Pretoria – Nigerian resident doctors in state-run hospitals embarked on an indefinite strike on Monday, demanding salary hikes, better welfare and adequate facilities.<\/p>\n
The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which represents around 40% of doctors, said the industrial action is the latest in a string of stoppages by medics to hit Africa\u2019s most populous nation.<\/p>\n
In a statement, the president of NARD Dr Aliyu Sokomba said all doctors will participate in the strike, including those who are treating patients with coronavirus.<\/p>\n
In June, doctors went on strike over lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) and called for hazard pay for those working close to the coronavirus. The strike exempted medics treating coronavirus patients.<\/p>\n
More than 800 health-care workers have been infected by the virus, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.<\/p>\n
Sokomba said this time there will be no exemptions.<\/p>\n
He said long-standing issues such as provision of life insurance, salary increases, payment of salary arrears as well as provision of adequate facilities for doctors were the reasons for the strike.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have arrears of 2014, 2015, 2016, salary shortfalls that were supposed to have been paid over six years ago, still pending.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are the issues we have and they appear not to have been addressed up till this day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is an indefinite strike,\u201d Sokomba said, adding that it would be called off only when the union\u2019s demands were met.<\/p>\n
Strikes by medics are common in Nigeria, where the health sector has been underfunded for years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pretoria – Nigerian resident doctors in state-run hospitals embarked on an indefinite strike on Monday, demanding salary hikes, better welfare and adequate facilities. The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), which represents around 40% of doctors, said the industrial action is the latest in a string of stoppages by medics to hit Africa\u2019s most populous […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":62,"featured_media":24795,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[1453,319],"class_list":["post-29675","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-coronavirus-in-nigeria","tag-doctors"],"yoast_head":"\n