The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen has asked resident doctors to suspend their planned strike.
The speaker is currently meeting with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), at the national Assembly complex Abuja.
The Speaker in his opening remarks urged officials of NARD to be patient while the issue is resolved amicably.
He said: “Given your faith in us, I would urge you to suspend the impending industrial action while we intervene. We equally seek your understanding of the fact that a new administration just came on board and still in the process of settling down as Ministers are yet to assume office”.
The meeting which is in the face of a looming strike notice was issued by residents doctors, has officials of the Federal Ministry of Finance in attendance.
TheNewsGuru.com, (TNG) reports the demands of the resident doctors include, the payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund, upward review of Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and salary arrears dating back to 2015.
Recall that the leadership of the 9th House had previously intervened in this matter. And Speaker Abbas is hopeful that the 10th Assembly to even go beyond the steps and actions taken by the previous House to ensure that we find a lasting resolution to the ever lingering crisis.
He added: “We are not unmindful of the many sacrifices Resident Doctors have continued to make in the health sector in spite of the many challenges you face and the poor conditions within which you work.
” While many of your colleagues have left the shores of our country in pursuit of better working conditions, you have chosen to remain behind in service to the fatherland. We commend you for this and assure you, that we would deploy every legislative instrument available to us to ensure that you are fully compensated and rewarded for this act of patriotism.
“I encourage you to take advantage of this meeting to bare your minds on the issues at stake and suggest realistic solutions to them. We must approach these issues with an open mind and guided by the fact that revenues available to the government may not fully meet our demands.
“Therefore, we must find a middle ground that satisfies everyone without prejudice to the 2023 Memorandum of Understanding. We particularly note that your demands include the payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund, upward review of Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and salary arrears dating back to 2015. These issues and more can be resolved without embarking on an industrial action”.
As at the time of filing this report, the Speaker entered into a close door meeting with NARD, representatives of the ministry of finance and lawmakers.
Details later….