Gbenro Adesina
The Federal Government and the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Wednesday, September 9 2020, reached an agreement on the demands by the association to end the ongoing strike by the doctors.
This is contained in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) released to newsmen at the end of the conciliatory meeting in Abuja, summoned by the Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Chris Ngige to address the issues that led to the industrial action.
All the nine point demands by the association have been deliberated on one by one and understanding reached preparatory for immediate implementation.
The meeting agreed that the representative of the association is to consult the NARD Executive Council within the next 24 hours with the view to calling off the strike later today.
It will be recalled that the residents doctors have withdrawn their services after the expiration of ultimatum last Monday over failure of Govt to address their demands.
Their demands include the payment of owed arrears of the consequential adjustment of the new national minimum wage to members, permanent new rate of hazard allowance to health workers, domestication of the Residency Training Act by State Governments, provision of group life insurance and payment of death-in-service benefit to the next of kin.
Others are payment of outstanding 2014, 2015 and 2016 arrears to its members and provision of Personal Protective Equipment, PPE at hospitals and Covid 19 isolation centres.
