Breaking: Resident doctors finally suspend strike

Members of the National Association of Resident Doctors have suspended the ongoing strike.

The association’s President, Aliyu Sokomba, made this known this on Thursday evening.

READ ALSO: Replace resident doctors with corps members — FG

Sokomba, however, said that notwithstanding the suspension of the industrial action, negotiations with Federal Government will continue on Friday morning.

Daily Times Nigeria learnt  that the strike was suspended following an understanding reached with the Federal Government on Wednesday.

He said, “Following our meeting yesterday (Wednesday) with government, we had a National Executive Council meeting and resolved to once again suspend our strike to allow the government time to address our demands. So the strike is suspended to be reviewed in two weeks’ time.”

The doctors had embarked on an industrial action on September 7 over government’s inability to meet their demands, including insurance package, payment of the outstanding COVID-19 allowance as well as the payment of medical residency training fund.

In a communique issued at the end of a marathon conciliation meeting presided over by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, in Abuja, the parties agreed that the COVID-19 isolation centres now had sufficient provision of Personal Protective Equipment.

The FG and NARD also agreed on the provision of group life insurance for doctors and other healthcare workers and payment of death-in-service benefit to next-of-kin/beneficiaries.

The meeting noted that the FG had paid N9.3bn to insurance companies for Life Group Insurance and payment of death benefits for health workers, adding that enrolment was by the submission of nominal rolls by the various health institutions, which NARD had been mandated at a previous meeting to accomplish.

On the payment of outstanding 2014, 2015, and 2016 arrears, the meeting recalled that it had been agreed that the issue would be further discussed post-COVID-19; therefore, no agreement was breached.

It was further agreed that discussions for review of a Permanent Hazard Allowance for all health workers would commence as soon as possible after consultations by the Minister of Labour and Employment with all stakeholders in the health sector.

(PUNCH)