ABUTH resident doctors begin five-day warning strike
The National Association of Resident Doctors at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital has begun a five-day warning strike due to unpaid salaries for some members.
During a news conference on Monday in Zaria, Kaduna State, the association’s Vice President, Dr. Ashiru Mikail, announced the strike. He explained that on July 15, 2024, the association had issued a one-week ultimatum to the hospital management to address their demands, warning of a strike if their issues were not resolved. With the ultimatum expiring on Sunday, July 21, 2024, the warning strike commenced.
Dr. Mikail stated that the association will reassess its strategy after the warning strike to determine the next steps. He emphasized the association’s rejection of percentage salary payments for members on the GIFMIS platform and demanded the repayment of withheld salaries.
In June 2024, the salaries of affected members were reduced by about 25 to 27 percent, amounting to N58,000 to N60,000. Additionally, doctors who received percentage payments in June are still owed salary arrears from 2021.
“Despite the harsh economic challenges in the country, no reasonable explanation for the deductions was provided by the management,” Mikail said. He also mentioned that the management proposed to pay N2 million monthly from the overhead cost to offset the arrears of accoutrement allowance. This would result in only N5,000 per member monthly, compared to the N100,000 owed to each member.
Mikail pointed out that more than 60 percent of Federal Tertiary Health institutions in the North West zone have begun paying the arrears of the accoutrement allowance, whereas ABUTH proposed paying N5,000 instead of N25,000.
The association is also demanding the implementation of a 25 percent CONMESS upward review of salaries for members on the GIFMIS platform, among other demands.
LATEST NEWS
Chart
-
Comments
This post currently has no comments.