UCH resident doctors resume work after month-long strike

Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have resumed work after a month-long nationwide strike.

Our correspondent recalls that the doctors had been on strike since Nov. 1, following the directives of the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).

The NARD directed its members nationwide to embark on an indefinite strike, following the government’s failure to address their demands.

The association demands a 200 per cent increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), and the full implementation of new allowances proposed since July 2022.

The doctors also demand immediate recruitment of clinical staff and the removal of bureaucratic bottlenecks that are delaying the replacement of exiting doctors, among other demands.

The President of the UCH NARD, Dr Gboyega Ajibola, said that the NARD National Executive Council (NEC) met on Nov. 29 to reappraise the situation.

He noted that the government had met most of their immediate and short-term demands.

According to Ajibola, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) had been signed with the government, enumerating each of the association’s demands and the points of execution.

“Based on the satisfactory terms of the MoU, the NARD NEC decided to suspend the industrial action and give the government a period of four weeks to re-appraise the efforts of the government as contained in the signed MoU.

“Having suspended the strike on Nov. 29, as in the tradition of NARD, each centre was mandated to hold a congress on Dec. 1, for all centre presidents to brief their members on development.

“After the brief, the centre presidents will direct all members to resume at their duty posts.

“In compliance with this, a congress was held at 8.00 a.m. today (Monday), where members were updated and directed to resume work,” he said.

Ajibola emphasised that all members have now resumed at their duty posts on Monday.