The striking National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) have been urged to respect the National Industrial Court order and return to work, while Federal Government and health authorities have been urged to shelve no pay order.
Resident doctors in public health facilities in Nigeria have been on strike for over 40 days for various reasons, that included delays in the payment of salaries and allowances and the payment of COVID-19 treatment allowances in the absence of death-in-service insurance. The strike coincided with a spike in COVID-19 cases, thus worsening the Nigeria’s health related deaths and complications.
The Director General/Chief Executive Officer, Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies (MINILS), Comrade Issa Aremu, who made the call on Sunday, said it is pertinent to appeal to the two parties to adopt a truce, for the striking doctors to obey the ruling of the National Industrial Court ordering its members to return to work and negotiate outstanding issues of disputes through social dialogue with the relevant health authorities.
Speaking in a statement signed by his technical adviser, Dr Lawal Moshood, after a monthly “Keep-fit- for Work” work out by the management and staff of the Institute in Ilorin, Kwara state, Aremu noted that the ongoing bickering would not help except for the two parties to return to the negotiating table to resolve the rift.
Comrade Aremu described the weekend order of the National Industrial Court as ‘a win- win ruling’ which he said gave both the health authorities and the striking doctors an ample opportunity to suspend all forms of hostilities and maintain the status quo ante. He therefore urged National Association of Resident Doctors to return to negotiation table and ensure an agreement that is binding on all parties.
“Doctors have the right to appeal, even go as far as the Supreme Court, but in the world of work, court judgements are zero- sum game with winners and losers and attendant death toll with respect to the present strikes. Both the doctors and health authorities should strive not for court judgements but for industrial justice, which can only come through negotiations and compromises at negotiation tables.
“It was time all stakeholders took advantage of the labour education services at the Institute. The current doctors’ strike was preventable, and avoidable if there was sufficient knowledge about industrial relations by all the parties, with respect to sanctity of collective agreements, social dialogue and compromises.
“In continuation of the hearing on the case brought against the doctors by the Federal government on Friday, Justice Bashar Alkali of the NIC ruled in favour of the government and ordered the striking doctors to resume work. In last year alone, medical practitioners were on strike three times over demands for allowances for treating COVID-19 patients and increment in basic salary,” Aremu lamented.
Meanwhile, the DG/CEO Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Comrade Issa Aremu, has urged employers of labour and organized unions to take advantage of dispute resolution mechanism for harmonious and healthy working relationship. He stated this at an interactive session with participants of the Institute’s workshop, titled ‘Sustainable Industrial Harmony and Productivity’ at University of Ibadan.
