Dissatisfied with Imo State Government’s continued refusal to address its sundry demands to enhance qualitative healthcare delivery services to the citizenry, the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) Imo State chapter has threatened to commence a three-day warning strike beginning on Monday the 16th June, 2014.

This position was made known by the chairman of the Association – Dr. Emeka Obioha while addressing newsmen at their secretariat in Owerri, the capital of Imo State.

According to him, the action was a fall out of the meeting of the Association held on the 29th of last month where the members took the inevitable decision to stand up to defend their colleagues in both the state and Federal Government.

Dr. Obioha who also doubles as the chairman of the Association in the South East zone listed ten months salary arrears being owed the doctors at the state specialist hospital Umuguma, posting of members of the association to various parts of the state without the necessary allowance to enable them function effectively  for business in their areas of new posting as well as the non resolution of the grievances of the doctors at the Federal Medical Centre Owerri (FMC) which had compelled them to be on strike for over  two months.

Explaining that while the February salary of the current house officers at the FMC had been drastically slashed by the management, the out gone house officers who are being owed two months salaries only receive one month despite directive by the Federal government that they should be paid the two months outstanding wages.

The NMA boss who expressed disenchantment that skipping letters are yet to be issued to FMC Owerri, requested that these letters be issued to the association without further delay even as he kicked against plans by the state government to privatize the state specialist hospital.