FG to Implement ‘No Work, No Pay’ On Striking Resident Doctors
The Federal Government has declared that it will implement the ‘no work, no pay’ rule on the striking National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) if they refuse to resume work.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, while speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Friday, said that by Tuesday, 6th of April, they would be invited back but any anomaly on the part of the doctors would invoke certain measures and sanctions from the federal government as well as the ‘no work, no pay’ rule.
“Their employers have a role also to keep their business afloat, to keep patients alive. They can employ local doctors. We won’t get there but if we are going to get there, we will use that stick.”
He further noted that the current hazard allowance of ₦5,000 for doctors was fixed in 1992 and would be reviewed in five weeks’ time, although he didn’t disclose the proposed figure.
“It is the last NMA President, Faduyile, that called my attention that the hazard (allowance) was ₦5,000. I raised it with the Finance Minister and the Vice President in the Economic Sustainability Meeting. In fact, to use the words of the Vice President, he said it is criminal, that it shouldn’t happen”.
“The new hazard allowance will be done in the next five weeks. It is in the Memorandum of Action that we signed. Immediately after the Easter break, I will convene a meeting to look at it holistically,” he added.
The resident doctors had on Thursday embarked on an indefinite strike to protest alleged failure by the Federal Government to fulfil its obligations to them.
They had earlier met with the Federal Government’s team on Wednesday over their grievances, rejecting the proposals put forward by the government on how to make up for the shortcomings in the implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between both parties.
