Breaking: Resident doctors suspend nationwide strike

The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended the nationwide strike it embarked upon on July 26, 2023.

The NARD President, Emeka Orji, disclosed the suspension of the strike on Friday, August 11, 2023.

Orji said the resident doctors would resume work on Saturday, August 12.

“We just suspended the strike. Work to resume at 8 a.m. tomorrow (Saturday). We will review progress made in two weeks,” he said.

This comes after a series of interventions by various stakeholders for the association to either embark on the industrial action in the first place or to suspend it earlier.

To avert the industrial action, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, on July 24 urged the resident doctors to suspend the strike.

Abbas made the call at a meeting between the leadership of the House and NARD in Abuja.

He added that the administration was still in the process of settling down as ministers had yet to assume office.

The association had also planned to stage protests and picket tertiary health institutions and the Federal Ministry of Health.

However, following the intervention of the Presidency and the Senate President, the protests were suspended.

The members of the association embarked on an indefinite strike to press home their demands.

The demands include the immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), immediate release of the circular on one-for-one replacement, and payment of skipping arrears.

Others are an upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) in line with full salary restoration to the 2014 value of CONMESS and payment of the arrears of consequential adjustment of the minimum wage to omitted doctors.

Also demanded was the reversal of the downgrading of the membership certificate by the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN).

The association also demanded the payment of MRTF, new hazard allowance, skipping and implementation of corrected CONMESS in state tertiary health institutions, and payment of omitted hazard allowance arrears.

The Star