No going back on strike – Resident doctors

The National Association of Resident Doctors on Tuesday said it would continue its indefinite strike until its demands were met by the Federal Government.
The President of the association, Dr. Jibril Abdullahi, said this in Abuja when he briefed newsmen on the outcome of its National Executive Council meeting on Monday.
The meeting reviewed the ongoing nationwide strike by the association, which commenced on October 1.
Abdullahi said that NEC, at the end of the meeting, demanded the immediate payment of outstanding salaries and allowances of its members.
He said NEC also demanded the release and implementation of the stakeholders’ agreement on residency training programme.
He said: “We are not unmindful of the financial doldrums the country is facing.
“If you bring forth the document, we will sit down and look at the financial implication and we discuss.
“On the average, we spend N120 billion annually on medical tourism.
“This is a colossal drain on the economy and you cannot reduce this until you strategise and develop the health care system.
“You can do that when you train the doctors and other health workers very well.”
Abdullahi said that the blueprint for residency training would help to avoid misunderstanding at different levels of implementation.
According to him, it will also help in minimising acrimony and industrial disharmony between resident doctors and hospitals management.
The doctors went on strike over the non-payment of arrears of salaries of some doctors for over four months by the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System.
They are also demanding the training and retraining of resident doctors.
Abdullahi said the NEC also gave the Federal Government a four-week ultimatum to investigate alleged victimisation of its members at the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, Imo State.
He said the NEC also demanded the implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure at the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital.