We Will Withdraw Court Case If You Go Back To Work, FG Tells Striking Doctors

The Federal Government is ready to withdraw the case instituted
against the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) if
striking doctors return to work.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said this on
Sunday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the
Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“I have briefed Mr President, we have agreed that they should
come back to work and if they come back to work, we can take other
things from there. We will withdraw the case in court,” Ngige
said.

“So, this is where we are with them and we are saying that even
if anybody cares to put it in any agreement, that clause will be
void ab initio because it’s against the law of the land and we will
not, as a government, succumb to undue arm twisting and then go and
sign that.”

The Minister explained that some workers had lost their pay
during previous strikes (under the “no work, no pay” rule) and the
same punishment will be meted out to the striking doctors if they
refuse to resume.

“Other workers have lost their pay during strikes; the Joint
Health Systems Union (JOHESU), they lost their pay in 2018 when
they went on four months strike; they lost about two or three
months’ pay when the no-work, no-pay rule was invoked,” the
minister said, adding that the Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) suffered the same fate last year.

“Nobody paid them (ASUU) anything for six months and it was
during COVID-19. So, we can handle things administratively, but
nobody should arm-twist,” he said.

The Minister also revealed that a list of 8,000 doctors to
benefit from the Medical Residency Training Fund is being
considered by the government.

FG Vs NARD: Lingering Tussle

The lingering tussle between the Nigerian government and NARD
has been on since July 31 when the doctors went on strike to press
home their demands.

Despite a series of meetings between the Federal Government and
the striking doctors, no resolution has been reached.

While the Federal Government insists that the demands of the
doctors have been met, the doctors insist otherwise.

Some of the issues raised by the medical practitioners include
the immediate payment of all salaries owed to all house officers,
including March salaries (regardless of quota system) before the
end of business on March 31.

They are also asking for an upward review of the hazard
allowance to 50 per cent of consolidated basic salaries of all
health workers and payment of the outstanding COVID-19 inducement
allowance, especially in state-owned-tertiary institutions.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had in the
wake of the disagreements threatened to invoke the “no-work, no
pay” rule on NARD.

But the NMA has thrown its weight behind the striking doctors
and other health workers.

The Federal Government is ready to withdraw the case instituted
against the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) if
striking doctors return to work.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said this on
Sunday after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the
Presidential Villa in Abuja.

“I have briefed Mr President, we have agreed that they should
come back to work and if they come back to work, we can take other
things from there. We will withdraw the case in court,” Ngige
said.

“So, this is where we are with them and we are saying that even
if anybody cares to put it in any agreement, that clause will be
void ab initio because it’s against the law of the land and we will
not, as a government, succumb to undue arm twisting and then go and
sign that.”

The Minister explained that some workers had lost their pay
during previous strikes (under the “no work, no pay” rule) and the
same punishment will be meted out to the striking doctors if they
refuse to resume.

“Other workers have lost their pay during strikes; the Joint
Health Systems Union (JOHESU), they lost their pay in 2018 when
they went on four months strike; they lost about two or three
months’ pay when the no-work, no-pay rule was invoked,” the
minister said, adding that the Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) suffered the same fate last year.

“Nobody paid them (ASUU) anything for six months and it was
during COVID-19. So, we can handle things administratively, but
nobody should arm-twist,” he said.

The Minister also revealed that a list of 8,000 doctors to
benefit from the Medical Residency Training Fund is being
considered by the government.

FG Vs NARD: Lingering Tussle

The lingering tussle between the Nigerian government and NARD
has been on since July 31 when the doctors went on strike to press
home their demands.

Despite a series of meetings between the Federal Government and
the striking doctors, no resolution has been reached.

While the Federal Government insists that the demands of the
doctors have been met, the doctors insist otherwise.

Some of the issues raised by the medical practitioners include
the immediate payment of all salaries owed to all house officers,
including March salaries (regardless of quota system) before the
end of business on March 31.

They are also asking for an upward review of the hazard
allowance to 50 per cent of consolidated basic salaries of all
health workers and payment of the outstanding COVID-19 inducement
allowance, especially in state-owned-tertiary institutions.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, had in the
wake of the disagreements threatened to invoke the “no-work, no
pay” rule on NARD.

But the NMA has thrown its weight behind the striking doctors
and other health workers.