THE Nasarawa State chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has called off its five-day warning strike and given the state government two weeks to respond to all of its demands.
The association went on strike after the state government refused to execute promotions for some of its members for up to nine years and annual raises for more than 12 years.
The state chairman, Dr. Peter Attah, briefed the media right after its emergency congress meeting in Lafia, the state capital, yesterday. He said that they decided to delay the five-day warning strike to minimize the suffering of the state’s residents.
According to Attah, the association has ordered its members to start working again right away throughout the state to save lives.
“At the end of two weeks, if the state government does not accede to our demands, we may be left with no choice but to embark on an indefinite strike action until all our demands are satisfied,” he stated.
The association had earlier, on June 13, 2023, given a 21-day deadline to press its claim before the warning strike.
Among the reasons adduced for the strike were non-implementation of the reviewed hazard allowance circular as approved for doctors in the state and the accrued 19 months arrears as at June 30th, 2023; non-payment of the medical residency training fund for doctors in the state government’s employment; non-implementation of the consequential minimum wage adjustment; high burden of tax; call duty tax exemption as promised by the governor on the January 17th, 2023; and inadequate manpower and overwork/burnout of doctors working in the state.
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