Doctors Strike: NARD Rejects New MoU With Nigerian Government
- Resident doctors in Nigeria have rejected the federal government's new Memorandum of Understanding
- According to a report, the Nigerian doctors rejected the MoU due to an undisclosed clause inserted into it
- The medical body said members are being punished because for the failures of those in government
In what will come as a big disappointments to many Nigerians, the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has rejected the new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) presented by the federal government.
This was disclosed by the NARD National President, Dr Okhuaihesuyi Uyilaw in Abuja on Sunday, August 22, Guardian Newspaper reports.
Source: Twitter
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) led the striking doctors to a meeting summoned at the instance of President Muhammadu Buhari aimed at resolving the ongoing strike by doctors across the country.
NAN recalls that the resident doctors embarked on an indefinite strike on Aug. 1 to press home the issues of agitation amongst their members.
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It would also be recalled that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, had on Aug. 13, handed over the trade dispute between the federal government and NARD to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria for adjudication.
According to Uyilawa, NARD had refused to sign the MoU that was brokered by its parent body, the NMA, and the federal government due to an undisclosed clause, Vanguard Newspaper added.
“We rejected the MoU, we didn’t sign it because we feel we are being punished for the failures of those in government,” he said.
He said the nationwide strike would continue and that they would proceed with the court case.
He however added that NARD leadership has to present the new MoU to its members before he could sign the document.
On his part, Ngige said that all other unions in the negotiation including the NMA and the Medical and Dental Consultants of Nigeria have signed the new agreement.
He noted that the meeting did not discuss the issue of ‘No Work No Pay’ but that all parties at the meeting agreed to an out-of-court settlement.
Recall that the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, has counselled striking doctors in the country to be humble and carry themselves with dignity.
The minister gave the advice while speaking at a summit on Thursday, August 12. Ngige, a medical doctor, was reacting to the current strike by medical doctors in the country.
Doctors strike: APC governors intervention hits deadlock
Meanwhile, it was reported that the ongoing resident doctors’ strike would continue as the intervention by the house of representatives on the dispute between the government and the NARD after two days of marathon meetings hit a deadlock.
The House committee on healthcare services on Tuesday, August 10, failed to convince the resident doctors in calling off the ongoing industrial action across the country.
The chairman of the house committee on healthcare services, Tanko Sununu, said the stakeholders, including the federal ministries of health; finance, budget and national planning; labour, employment and productivity had agreed to address some of the issues.
Source: Legit.ng
