Resident doctors vow to continue strike

President of National Association of Resident Doctors, Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi  said the threat by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, to invoke the no-work-no-pay policy this week will not in any way compel members of the association to call off their ongoing strike.

READ ALSO: Strike: We can’t be intimidated, resident doctors tell Minister

The NARD president stated this on Sunday  asking the minister to stop playing politics with medicine.

He said, “It’s quite shameful when our political leaders in power and a doctor try to mix politics with medicine.

“The issue here now is that the minister is trying to justify his failures in meeting our requirements in all the ultimatum we signed with him over 117 days and he calling International Labour Organisation when he has not done the ones he ought to do.

“Was he not aware that we gave notice of the strike over 116 days? Was he not part of the people that signed the memorandum of action with us?

“We are not calling off the strike today (Monday). We are resolute in our decision on the strike. We want to stay on this until we achieve something.

“We want to achieve something meaningful that will change the narrative of the health sector.”

“We are aware of the implications of the threat but the strike continues. We want to create a new narrative to all the threats. You can’t be threatening somebody when you have not done your part”.

Ngige had said, “Next week, I’ll escalate this issue because reconciliation has failed.

“I won’t meet them anymore because I have other things to do. I had two conciliations. Am I going to be wasting my time with them?

“I have other tools within the labour laws and I will use them. I invoked Section 43 of the labour laws this afternoon (Friday). I have communicated it to NARD. They will not receive money for the period they are on strike and it will never count as a period of pensionable position in their career.

“Even the International Labour Organisation supports it because they render essential services. They are not supposed to go on strike without notifying me 15 days before the day of the strike.”

“As we speak, I have not received any notification and that is why I am invoking Section 43 of the Labour Act – on the withdrawal of services, right to strike, and the right to protect the employer and their patients.

“Things will happen next week. Let them wait because they are taking the government for a ride, and it is wrong. They are playing with lives”, Ngige had said.

Recall that members of NARD had on August 2 commenced a nationwide industrial action.

The resident doctors blamed the Federal Government for the strike.

They accused the government of failing to implement the Memorandum of Action earlier endorsed by the two parties which necessitated the suspension of the NARD’s earlier strike action in April 2021.

MTO/Punch