FG insists on no-work, no-pay policy, agrees to meet other resident doctor’s demands

By our reporter/ As efforts by stakeholders to persuade striking resident doctors to call of its one month old strike action failed to yield result, the federal government on Sunday said it has agreed to meet all the demands of the striking doctors but will implement the no-work, no-pay policy.

The industrial court had restrained members of NARD from continuing with the action, after the federal government filed a suit against the association, the resident doctors has refused to discontinue the strike amid the threat of a no-work, no-pay rule issued by the federal government.

But speaking shortly after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, Ngige said the 12-point demands of NARD have been met but the enforcement of section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act during the period of strike remains effective.

According to the minister, other unions in the country lost their wages when they embarked on strike.

Ngige said, “Out of their 12-point issues raised in their demands, we have done all, we have come to agreements on all, including those that even affect the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria and medical doctors who are in academics and teaching universities.”

“So, we have handled it all, the only point of disagreement now is that they said that the agreements and the memorandum of action that Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act will not apply to them.

“That section says that when a worker withdraws his services from his employer, the employer is at liberty to withhold payment of emoluments to him and the ILO principles at work and strike said you can use that money to pay other people you have engaged in that particular period of strike.

“That’s why overseas and in other climes, you don’t see strikes getting more than three days or four days or five days, highest. They only do picketing and things like that, because people’s lives are involved.”

Ngige further stated that the legal action instituted by the federal government will be dropped if the resident doctors resume work.

“I briefed Mr. President and we’ve agreed that they should come back to work and if they come back to work, we can take other things from there; we’ll drop the case in court and then they will come back and get things done,” he said.