The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, on Wednesday, said the Federal Government has decided to approve seven years tenure doctors’ resident training.
Ngige said this while briefing State House correspondents of the outcome of the weekly meeting of the Federal Executive Council at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“Government has fixed a tenure for doctors’ resident training at seven years. It is not a permanent job,” the minister said.
He explained that the decision was taken based on the report of a technical committee presented to the government.
As part of the recommendations in the report, Ngige said the government was also demanding that there should be tenure of a maximum of two terms for executives of trade unions.
Details later…
Tag: resident doctors
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JUST IN: FG approves seven years training tenure for resident doctors
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Resident doctors mull nationwide strike over sacked members
The Nigeria Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), on Thursday warned that it may proceed on strike if the Federal Government failed to facilitate the reinstatement of its members sacked by the University of Jos Teaching Hospital.
The Publicity and Social Secretary of NARD, Dr Ugochukwu Eze said at a press conference in Kaduna that the 21-day ultimatum issued for the reinstatement of the sacked doctors expires today, May 31.
He recalled that the first ultimatum issued on the matter expired on May 2, 2018, and was extended by another three weeks to give room for proper dialogue.
According to Eze, the doctors also want the government to meet up with all outstanding agreements contained in the September 6, 2017 Memorandum of Terms of Settlement entered with the government.
“The September 2017 strike was suspended to allow government complete implementation of the terms of settlement but there are still unmet agreements.
“NARD leadership may not be able to guarantee continuous industrial harmony should our legitimate agitations be ignored by government,” he stressed.
He noted that since the commencement of strike by the Joint Health Sector Workers Union, healthcare services in the country has been anchored on the shoulders of resident doctors, as such government should reciprocate the good will by addressing their problems.
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Unpaid allowances: Resident doctors issue 10-day strike notice to UCH management
Barely one month after their nationwide strike, the resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, on Friday, gave the hospital management another 10-day strike notice to protest unpaid salaries.
President of the UCH branch of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Dr Segun Olaopa disclosed this development at a news briefing.
Olaopa said that the association’s dialogue with the hospital management on many occasions had yet to yield any positive result.
“It has become imperative to draw the attention of the press to the brewing issues in UCH. These issues if not addressed, may impact negatively on the existing industrial harmony at the hospital.
“These issues include: non-payment of our September salary, 28 percent shortfall in August salary, 2016 shortfalls of 11 months till date and work overload due to management’s refusal to employ new residents.
“Presently, the number of residents stands at 525; this has reduced to 454, as some of them have completed their residency. By this October, 40 among us will also finish the residency.
“The implication of this is that the remaining few residents are given work overload and this should not be; management should employ more residents to make the workload easy and to achieve maximum productivity.
“Resident doctors’ accommodations need to be rehabilitated. The conditions of those flats are nothing to write home about.
“We implore management to do the needful in order to avert another strike,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the association went on a 10-day national industrial strike, which was suspended on Sept. 14.
Part of the outcome of the dialogue, which led to the suspension of the strike was that government would release money to pay the doctors’ backlog of salaries.
NAN
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Again, resident doctors commence indefinite strike in Kaduna
Residents doctors in Kaduna State have began an indefinite strike on Tuesday over “sorry state” of healthcare facilities in state government hospitals.
Dr. Joseph Jokshan, President, Association of Resident Doctors in the state, said at a press briefing Monday night in Kaduna that the state government had not responded to any of the doctors’ demands issued 21 days ago.
He said that the doctors were pained to begin the strike, but “unfortunately, we cannot effectively carry out these tasks in the current sorry state of our healthcare facilities.”
Jokshan listed issues that prompted the strike to include poor funding, equipping and staffing of hospitals and non-provision of living environment for medical, health workers and patients.
He said that members of the association were also demanding for payment of House Officers salaries and arrears and immediate and full implementation of “corrected” CONMESS.
“Immediate implementation of already approved funding for residency training of Kaduna state doctors in their chosen fields, as well as promotion of our doctors that are due.”
He urged the general public to “join us in this struggle and push the government to do the needful.”
“This is the struggle we intend to see through to the end, not because we are unaware of the implication of this action but because we are left with no other option,” he added.
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JUST IN: Resident doctors suspend strike
The National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, has suspended its nationwide strike.
The suspension was announced in the early hours of Thursday after a meeting of the executives of the association.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that the strike which commenced on September 4, crippled activities in public hospitals across the country.
The federal government had earlier said it had met many of the demands of the doctors, including payment of salary arrears.
Addressing journalists on the decision to suspend the strike, the Chairman of NARD, UCH, Ibadan chapter, Segun Olaopa, said “the decision was reached following appeals from the public that the doctors should give the federal government more time to meet their demands.”
Olaopa, however, said that there will be a review in two weeks time to determine how far the government had gone to honour their agreements.
Details later…
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FG, resident doctors meeting deadlocked as strike continues
The meeting of the executives of the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, convened to review government’s offers has been deadlocked.
The meeting, which started at 11 p.m. on Tuesday in Abuja ended at 7 a.m. on Wednesday for a break.
Reporters at the meeting venue observed that the doctors argued all night. While some of them wanted the strike suspended, others wanted it to continue until the federal government meets all their demands.
After the break, the president of the association left the venue, reportedly to the health ministry to get a guarantee letter that could influence their decision.
The meeting is to reconvene at 10 a.m.
The strike, which commenced last week, has crippled activities at public hospitals across Nigeria.
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Why we may not suspend strike action now – Resident doctors
…accuse FG of breaching agreements signed with NARD of Wednesday
Hope that the ongoing strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) will be suspended was dashed on Friday as the federal government breached agreement reached with the doctors on Wednesday.
Specifically, the government failed to pay the backlog of salary arrears to the doctors as it promised on Wednesday to effect within two days.
Arikawe Adeolu, a member of the National Executive Council of NARD, confirmed to newsmen in Abuja on Friday that the government had reneged on the agreement.
Mr. Adeolu, who is also the General Secretary of NARD at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi, Abuja, said that as at the close of work on Friday, no member of the association had been paid.
The meeting on Wednesday between the doctors and Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole, a professor of medicine and his Labour and Employment counterpart, Chris Ngige, was to find ways on how to end the strike.
The doctors are protesting the sack of some of their colleagues, non-payment of “skipping’’ entitlement, non-inclusion in the IPPIS platform and non-payment of their salary arrears.
Following failure by the government to honour the agreement on payment of salary arrears, Mr. Adeolu said that the association would meet late on Friday to decide on next line of action.
“Since we held the meeting with the two ministers, nothing new has happened. We were hoping that they will fulfil their end of the agreement so that we can call off the strike and continue negotiations,” he said.
“But, up till now that I am speaking with you, nothing has happened; we are yet to be paid.
“After the meeting we had on Wednesday, an agreement was reached. Some of the agreements reached cannot be fulfilled immediately except one; that is for the Federal Government to pay the backlog of salary arrears owed doctors across the country; it was agreed that these arrears would be paid latest on Thursday or Friday.
“With this in mind, we scheduled to hold a meeting on Friday to discuss the next steps to take in order to call off the strike but to our dismay, we are yet to receive anything.”
He said that the Friday meeting would be closed-door, and that the association would release a communique at the end.
He, however, expressed optimism that the government would fulfil its part of the agreement so that the association could call off the strike.
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Resident doctors have suspended their proposed nationwide strike – FG
The Federal Government has said the proposed strike scheduled to commence from Monday, September 4, by the National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD, has been suspended following a time intervention.
This was revealed by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige. The Minister was quoted by Channels Television as saying on Friday that the doctors suspended the strike after a meeting.
The meeting was held between officials of the NARD, Ngige, and officials of the ministry of health, and ended on Friday morning after several hours, the minister said.
Ngige said the meeting would continue on November 2.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that the resident doctors had earlier threatened to go on strike from September 4, if the federal government does not meet their demands including their immediate enrolment in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS.
“Neither the federal nor state governments has shown commitment to the resolution of issues at stake nor honoured previous agreements,” the head of NARD at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, said in a statement.
“Consequent upon this, the association resolved to proceed on a total indefinite industrial action from Monday, September 4, 2017, until all these issues are permanently resolved.
TheNewsGuru.com reports that the doctors are, however, yet to formally announce the suspension of the strike.
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Resident doctors end warning strike, issue 21 days ultimatum to FG to meet demands
The National Association of Resident Doctors, NARD on Wednesday ended its seven-day nationwide warning strike and gave the Federal Government another 21-day ultimatum to meet its demands.
TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the resident doctors had on January 18 embarked on seven days warning strike for the government to meet their demands.
The President of the association, Dr John Onyebueze, said that the demands border on welfare, revamping decay infrastructure and equipment in the government-owned health institutions, provide quality and affordable healthcare to the populace.
Others include immediate implementation of the National Health Act, 2014, release of the template and implementation of white paper on residency training programme.
He said, “At the moment, we are still where we are, none of our demands have been met by the government, but the last time we met with the government officials they made some promises.
“So, we are giving the Federal Government another 21 days ultimatum now to see those promises translating into action.
“They cannot just tell us that they have set up machinery to implement the National Health Act, 2014 without actions.
“Between now and the 21 days we have given, if we do not see the committee working or implementing the National Health Act that means it is a mere promise.
“On the other issues regarding welfare, the government also made some promises which of course they have been making since 2013.
“What we are waiting for is for those promises to translate into action.”
TheNewsGuru.com reports that in a response to the warning strike, President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday directed Chief Medical Directors and Medical Directors of Federal Tertiary Hospitals to replace the resident doctors.