A suit against striking resident doctors under the aegis of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) instituted by the Federal Government has been adjourned by the Industrial Court till September 15, 2021.
The Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Chris Ngige took the striking doctors to court over the abdication of their responsibilities.
The Industrial Court summoned the doctors to explain why the “no work, no pay” rule should not be applied against them.
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Present at the court were key members of the NARD and the Ministry of Health.
However, officials of the Ministry of Labour and Employment were absent.
Speaking in a briefing after the case was adjourned, President of the NARD, Dr Uyilawa Ukh, said: “Good afternoon Nigerians, I want to deeply on the behalf of all resident doctors in Nigeria thank you wholeheartedly for the show of love and empathy towards our cause.
“We are not unaware of the sufferings you all are going through due to government insincerity of purpose.
“It is one hundred and twenty days (120) today since we headed your call to call off our industrial action following the government memorandum of action.
“It is five (5) years and eleven (11) months since we signed the memorandum of terms of settlement (MOTOS) yet the Government has reneged.
“As you are aware, today the Government sued us to the National Industrial Court for adjudication.
“As a law-abiding association, we were in court as summoned, but the Ministry of Labour was absent, and only the ministry of Health was present representing the Federal Government. The case was adjourned to 15th September 2021.
“We once again appeal to Nigerians to bear with us because a hungry Doctor is a dangerous doctor.
“We are hopeful the government shall do the needful as it pertains to the welfare of our members, thus curbing the ugly incidence of brain drain. Together we can. God bless the beautiful people of Nigeria.”
The resident doctors began an indefinite strike on August 2, 2021, due to the failure of the government to meet most of their demands.
Some of them were the withdrawal of the circular by the Head of Service removing House Officers from the scheme of service and the transfer of its members from the GIFMIS platform to the IPPIS platform because of the hardship caused by the GIFMIS platform due to the delays in payment of their salaries ranging from three to seven months.