Resident Doctors Begin Nationwide Strike Today

Nigeria resident doctors begin indefinite nationwide strike today over integrated Payroll and Personal Information System agreement.

   Rising from its extraordinary National Executive Council meeting at the National Hospital, Abuja, the National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria (NARD) yesterday declared an indefinite nationwide and total strike effect from yesterday over the Federal Government’s failure to implement their agreement on Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System.
   Other reasons listed for the strike action included the government’s failure to produce a blueprint on residency training in conjunction with the association and other stakeholders, which would consist of all aspects of residency training, including local training modules, funding and overseas attachments, among others.
   This was contained in a communiqué at the end of the meeting in Kano, signed by NARD President, Dr. Jibril Abdullahi, Acting Secretary General, Dr. Udu Chijioke Udu, and Publicity/Social Secretary, Dr. Ilokanuno Chinedu, after the Abuja meeting.
   It noted the failure of the Federal Government to “appropriately respond to our demands as contained in our earlier ultimatum, which effectively expires at midnight of September 30, 2013.”
   It further condemned the continuous victimization of their members by the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, in spite of several consultations between them and other stakeholders.
   Additionally, “NEC further observed with dismay the failure of the Enugu State Government to implement the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for our members in Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu. This is in spite of the implementation of same to a select group in the same institution. This has greatly hampered effective health service delivery and residency training.”
   The body warned the Enugu government that failure to respond positively to their demand would result in staged withdrawal of services in the state, then the whole of South Eastern Nigeria and finally, nationwide.
   More so, “all institutions already on the IPPIS platform should be retained and concerted efforts made to identify and correct factors impeding the successful implementation of IPPIS. In addition, no new health institution should be recruited until all anomalies