The
Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Lagos University Teaching
Hospital (LUTH) Branch, has lamented over the non-payment of its
members’ salaries by the hospital’s management in the last three months.
It called on the Federal Government to come to the members’ aid to
enable them end the strike, which took effect last Thursday. The
hospital’s ARD President, Dr. Adewale Oba, in an interview with The
Nation at the association’s secretariat in LUTH, Idi-Araba, said the
non-payment of salaries has affected his members negatively. According
to Oba, many resident doctors could no longer transport themselves to
work, feed their families and take care of other basic things because
their September, October and November salaries have not been paid.
However, a statement by the Head, Corporate Services, LUTH, Kelechi
Otuneme, said the hospital’s management has engaged the Ministry of
Finance and other appropriate ministries/ offices to correct the
shortfall in payment of allocations, adding that efforts have reached an
advanced stage to resolve it and pay outstanding salaries. But, Oba
said the association would continue with the strike because no specific
information was made available to them on when the salaries would be
paid. He lamented that many doctors have been borrowing money to cope
with the economic situation in the country. “We never wanted to go on
strike, but we have been praying that things would be resolved before it
got this worse. We have tried all forms of engagement to ensure that
salaries are paid but till now, it has yielded no result.Over two weeks
ago, we gave an ultimatum to LUTH management and the Federal Government,
which lasted till last Wednesday. Following the ultimatum, the Congress
of ARD LUTH took a decision to go on a total and indefinite strike,
which began last Thursday.” He noted that the association was informed
that LUTH’s budget was cut short of about N3 billion from what it used
to collect. Oba added that his members were informed that letters have
been written to Ministry of Finance, “but there is no fruitful result
yet”. He said: “We cannot continue to be working without getting
salaries. This is unthinkable and it is discriminatory. We hope that
this situation does not get out of hand because Nigerian citizens do not
deserve all of this. The resident doctors are the defence for
consultants because we are in training and it is expected that the
training we have been given should transfer to the patients. So, if we
are not working, the consultants alone cannot see the patients in LUTH
because of the massive inflow of patients into the hospital.LUTH strike: Doctors cry out over 3-months unpaid salaries
The
Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), Lagos University Teaching
Hospital (LUTH) Branch, has lamented over the non-payment of its
members’ salaries by the hospital’s management in the last three months.
It called on the Federal Government to come to the members’ aid to
enable them end the strike, which took effect last Thursday. The
hospital’s ARD President, Dr. Adewale Oba, in an interview with The
Nation at the association’s secretariat in LUTH, Idi-Araba, said the
non-payment of salaries has affected his members negatively. According
to Oba, many resident doctors could no longer transport themselves to
work, feed their families and take care of other basic things because
their September, October and November salaries have not been paid.
However, a statement by the Head, Corporate Services, LUTH, Kelechi
Otuneme, said the hospital’s management has engaged the Ministry of
Finance and other appropriate ministries/ offices to correct the
shortfall in payment of allocations, adding that efforts have reached an
advanced stage to resolve it and pay outstanding salaries. But, Oba
said the association would continue with the strike because no specific
information was made available to them on when the salaries would be
paid. He lamented that many doctors have been borrowing money to cope
with the economic situation in the country. “We never wanted to go on
strike, but we have been praying that things would be resolved before it
got this worse. We have tried all forms of engagement to ensure that
salaries are paid but till now, it has yielded no result.Over two weeks
ago, we gave an ultimatum to LUTH management and the Federal Government,
which lasted till last Wednesday. Following the ultimatum, the Congress
of ARD LUTH took a decision to go on a total and indefinite strike,
which began last Thursday.” He noted that the association was informed
that LUTH’s budget was cut short of about N3 billion from what it used
to collect. Oba added that his members were informed that letters have
been written to Ministry of Finance, “but there is no fruitful result
yet”. He said: “We cannot continue to be working without getting
salaries. This is unthinkable and it is discriminatory. We hope that
this situation does not get out of hand because Nigerian citizens do not
deserve all of this. The resident doctors are the defence for
consultants because we are in training and it is expected that the
training we have been given should transfer to the patients. So, if we
are not working, the consultants alone cannot see the patients in LUTH
because of the massive inflow of patients into the hospital.
