The Association of Resident Doctors of University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku Ozalla has commenced a 5-day warning strike by 8am of Friday 19th June, 2015.

 

The strike is to press home their demands, which in summary is for UNTH Management to implement what was budgeted for them in the 2015 personnel cost budget.

 

Since January 2015, Doctors in UNTH have been receiving salaries one grade level below their rightful earning. Also, Doctors who have been promoted or advanced are still being owed their salary arrears since 2014. Residents Doctors who attended updates and took postgraduate exams which should have funded even before the events are still being owed their refunds, some dating as far back as 2013.

 

Rising from her emergency congress held on Thursday 18th June, 2016, members resolved to proceed on this warning strike which now appear to be their last option, and may proceed on an indefinite and strike action if the 5-day warning strike elapses without the Hospital management showing strong commitment towards implementing the 2015 personnel cost budget.

 

It is pertinent to note that ARD UNTH tried explored as much avenues as possible towards peaceful resolution of these issues, but all proved abortive. We have also authoritatively gathered from different reliable sources, that the 2015 budget captured our rightful grade level but the hospital management have refused to implement the budget which is ordinarily supposed to be a law.

 

We are not unaware of the deleterious effects of strike actions in the health sector, we know the pain patients are put through during periods of strike. Unfortunately, for the past 45 days, we have put this before us and avoided an industrial action hoping that the Hospital Management will respond and do the needful. Alas, our gentle and humanistic approach was misconstrued as weakness and cowardice on our path, forcing and arm-twisting us into this avoidable strike action.

 

The congress however agreed that services will continue to be offered to the critically ill patients in the hospital especially those in the Intensive care units and Newborn special care unit to curtail to a fair extent avoidable loss of lives.

 

The path taken by UNTH management is flagrant disobedience of the Laws of the land which recognizes the budget as a Law.  Their action obviously contradicts agenda of the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government, and can best be described as sabotage against the Government of the day.

 

Throwing the fragile and merely recovering Nigerian health sector into another round of turmoil in the face of a new government is one thing we believe the UNTH Management should proudly avoid.

 

We call on the President and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammdu Buhari GCFR, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health Mr Linus Awute,  The Director of Medical Services Dr Patience Osinubi, the Deputy President of the Senate Chief Ike Ekwerammadu and all Federal Legislators especially those representing Enugu State, the Government and good people of Enugu State ably led by Rt Hon Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, all well meaning individuals and the general public to help us prevail on UNTH management to implement the 2015 budget and avoid further breakdown of services in UNTH.

 

We are not in dispute with the Federal Government who have done their bit, we are not in dispute with other health workers in UNTH, we are in dispute with UNTH Management who have simply elected to flagrantly disobey the 2015 budget.

 

We appeal to the general public to bear with us, while we do our best to resolve the pending issues and resume full scale services.

 

Dr Aloy Ifedinso Ugwoke                                                                     

President   

Public Relations Officer

ARD UNTH