NARD
Nigerian asks resident doctors, health workers to withdraw strike notices
The Federal Government has directed the National Association of Resident Doctors and the Joint Health Sector Unions to withdraw their strike notices immediately. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday. Ngige was addressing newsmen at the end of a meeting with the Presidential Committee on Salaries, relevant Federal Government stakeholders and health sector professional associations and trade unions. He said that the Federal Government was recently issued notice of trade disputes by NARD and JOHESU. “I told them to withdraw because it is arm-twisting. It is not allowed in International Labour Organisation Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiation. So, we expect them to withdraw those notices they gave. “JOHESU gave 15-day ulti...
Resident doctors extend strike ultimatum by two weeks for federal government, states to act
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has extended its strike ultimatum by two weeks to let the Federal and State governments to address the issues of welfare of their members across the country. The extension is contained in a communiqué at the end of the association’s 41st Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) which held in Nnewi/Awka, Anambra, between May 25 and May 29. The communiqué was release by Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, National President of NARD, in the company of other members of the executive. It said that the association would resume a total strike action if its demands remained unattended to at the end of the period. It said that the strike was suspended following government’s promises as entailed in the Memorandum of Actions, signed at the instance of Minister of Labour...
Resident doctors decry Nigerian government scrapping of officers, interns salary
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has decried the scrapping of the salary of medical house officers and other health interns by the Federal Government. Dr Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi, the President of NARD, said this while speaking with newsmen on Saturday in Abuja Okhuaihesuyi said that the NARD was making its own investigation to confirm the veracity of the news, adding that it would be addressed appropriately. Newsmen report that the Federal Government through the National Council of Establishment (NCE) stopped the salaries of medical house officers. Others categories of officers affected include dental house officers, nurse interns, pharmacist interns, medical laboratory science interns, and NYSC doctors. Dr Folashade Yemi-Esaa, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federatio...
Nigerian doctors suspend strike
National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has called off its 9-day old strike. The resident doctors reached the decision to end the strike at a virtual National Executive Council (NEC) meeting which ended Saturday evening. The President of NARD, Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi who spoke to newsmen on telephone said the association had resolved to resume work following positive consideration of the agreement reached with the federal government at their meeting on Friday. He said that the association will be formally announcing its suspension of the strike after communicating the decision to government through the Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige later on Saturday. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. ...
House seeks refund of N308 million wrongly paid to resident doctors
The House of Representatives committee on health care services has directed the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) to return N308 million in salaries wrongly paid to its members in the past four months. Chairman of the committee, Rep. Tanko Sununu said the N308 million had been with NARD and they are in touch with relevant organs of government to make sure that the money is paid back to government treasury. He however said, the monies were not refunded because the account into which the refund to be made was not given to them. He disclosed this after a closed-door meeting with NARD members on Friday. “At this meeting, we resolved and the account number was forwarded to the President of the Resident Doctors for onward transmission to the members so that the money can be paid ba...
NMA apologises to Nigerians, patients over resident doctors strike
File Photo Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) has apologised to Nigerians, especially patients at various government hospitals, over the strike embarked upon by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD). Dr Enema Amodu, the Chairman, NMA, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter, made the plea on Sunday in Abuja while addressing newsmen over the NARD strike. According to him, the association is sorry and wishes to apologise to Nigerians over the action. The resident doctors embarked on strike on April 1 to press home their demand for upward review of their N5000 hazard allowance, payment of outstanding COVID-19 inducement allowance, among others. He said “we are not insensitive; we hope that government and those in charge of the discussion with NARD will take it seriously, with a v...
Nigerian government begs resident doctors to shelve planned strike
The Federal Government has appealed to Resident Doctors to shelve their threat of embarking on a nationwide strike in the country. The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, made the appeal at a conciliatory meeting with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Wednesday in Abuja. Newsmen recall that NARD had threatened to shut public health care facilities beginning from April 1, over unpaid salaries and other welfare packages. Ngige said that majority of the welfare issues under contention were almost resolved even before the letter of compliant and notification of a planned strike action was delivered at the ministry ”We are here because we have started solving your issues. We put up proposals with given timelines on how to deal with them. “We will look at thos...
PTF: Nigeria winning fight against coronavirus
Mr Boss Mustapha, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF)/Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, says Nigeria’s national response on COVID-19 is achieving impressive results. The PTF chairman, who stated this at the daily briefing of the task force on Monday in Abuja, said “Nigeria continues to progressively witness declining confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a record low number of 79 cases on Sunday, Sept. 13. “While this suggests that we are winning this war, the reality is that we need to improve on our commitment to eliminate the virus completely by abiding with the protocols so that we can return to a semblance of what was our normal life. “In a very modest way, therefore, we could say that our National Response, under the guidance of Mr. President,...
Nigerian government begs health workers to suspend nationwide strike
The Federal Government has appealed to the Joint Health Sector Unions to suspend its one-week warning strike nationwide. The Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, made the appeal on Monday during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja. “I use this opportunity to appeal to JOHESU to suspend their strike and go into a negotiation. “The position of the Ministry of Health is that strikes by healthcare workers jeopardise the lives of citizens, especially at such times of global health emergencies as now. “Nigeria needs the service of all our health workers to control the spread of COVID-19. Issues around allowances are multi-sectoral and have always been served with negotiations no matter how long it took,” he pleaded. The minister’s plea is coming hours after JOHESU ...
Resident doctors threaten fresh strike August 17
The National Association of Resident Doctors has given the Federal Government three weeks to address its demands or its members would resume their suspended strike on Monday, August 17, 2020. While demanding the payment of COVID-19 hazard allowance to members which, it said, was long overdue, NARD called on government and the National Assembly to probe the non-enrolment of healthcare workers for the Group Life Insurance and non-payment of death-in-service benefit to the next-of-kin of its fallen heroes, despite claims of payment to insurance companies. The President of NARD, Dr Aliyu Sokomba, made this known in Abuja on Saturday while reading to journalists a communique issued after its virtual National Executive Council meeting and scientific conference held at the Gombe International Hot...
Senate faults PTF conversion to PSC, laments doctors strike
The Senate Committee on Health said on Thursday that the Presidency should have consulted the National Assembly before converting the the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 to the Presidential Steering Committee. The panel also expressed surprise that the National Association of Resident Doctors embarked on strike despite the fact that their demands had been met by the Federal Government. Chairman of the Senate panel, Yahaya Oloriegbe, stated these during a public hearing on a bill seeking to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Mubi, Adamawa State. Oloriegbe said, “I was listening to the radio yesterday (Wednesday) and I heard that the PTF (on COVID-19) has been converted to a steering committee. “We were not consulted in terms of what will be the operational mechanism and so on. “I am ...