Some Govt Agencies Are Threatening Us To Call-Off Strike – Resident Doctors

• The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige had, on Friday, threatened that the government would not hesitate to invoke the ‘No work no pay’ provision in the labour laws if they failed to call off the strike

The National Association of Resident Doctors has raised the alarm that it is being threatened by some government agencies to call off its ongoing strike.

This is coming four days into the nationwide strike which according to the association is to protest against the failure of the Federal Government to honour their agreements, including the payment of salary arrears and indemnity for their colleagues who died in the line of COVID-19 duty.

The National President, NARD, Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, told The PUNCH that even though they had the duty to save lives, they are first human beings who had needs and should not be denied their entitlements.

Read also: We Will Implement ‘No Work, No Pay’, If Doctors Refuse To Work – Ngige

“Since this strike started, I have received calls from many government agencies to shelve the strike. Some are in form of threats. It’s that bad. They think it is politics, forgetting that we cannot play politics with human lives. We are professionals and being a doctor means you have sworn an oath to take care of lives but when you are hungry or you become a patient, what is your fate?” he added.

He said this was a fight for survival, noting that they were tired of signing a memorandum of understanding with the government as the previous ones had yielded no result.

The leadership of the association had met with the Federal Government delegation on Wednesday night, during which the government appealed that the planned strike be shelved, but the association commenced the strike on Thursday, April 1.

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