ARD UNTH SUSPENDS 11-WEEK OLD STRIKE

17^th September, 2015

 

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF EMERGENCY CONGRESS MEETING OF ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENT DOCTORS (ARD), UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA TEACHING HOSPITAL (UNTH), WHICH HELD ON THURSDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2015 AT THE DOCTORS’ COMMON ROOM, UNTH ITUKU OZALLA ENUGU STATE.

 

The Association of Resident Doctors, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital held an emergency Congress on Thursday 17th September, 2015 to deliberate on the recent moves made by President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR through the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHSCF) and the outcome of the meeting held between representatives of ARD UNTH, some elders of the Medical Profession in UNTH and the UNTH management.

 

OBSERVATIONS

 

1)      Members noted that President Muhammadu Buhari, acting through the OHSCF released a circular with reference no; HCSF/428/S.1/128 dated September 14, 2015 and signed by the HCSF Danladi Kifasi, directing all Ministries Departments and Agencies to compute and forward details of all arrears owed civil servants within seven days.

Members viewed this as an act of good will and utter sensitivity to the plight of the civil servants in Nigeria.

 

2)     Members thanked some of the elders of the medical profession in UNTH; Dr J. C. Okafor, Prof Nene Obianyo, Prof A. Ikeme, Prof B. C. Ibeh, Dr J. U. Achebe, Prof G. N. Adimorah and Dr A. U. Mbah; the Chairman of NMA Enugu State, Dr George Ugwu; and the Chairman MDCAN UNTH Chapter, Assoc. Prof. Ikenna Onwuekwe for mediating between ARD UNTH and the UNTH Management in a meeting held on Monday 14^th September, 2015 at the Board room of UNTH, Ituku Ozalla.

 

3)     Members noted the new position of UNTH on our demands as captured in a correspondence from the CMD UNTH, DR C. C. Amah to the President of ARD UNTH, Dr Ugwuoke Aloy Ifedinso.

 

4)     Members most especially thanked the Medical Elders for standing in as sureties to these promises made by the CMD and promising upon their honour to ensure the CMD does not renege on his promises.

 

5)     Members also noted that 3 months deductions made from our salaries for ARD dues and other rather recent deductions made from members’ salaries for ARD UNTH have not been paid into ARD account. To make matters worse, one of the capitations was paid into ARD account domicile with Firstbank of Nigeria plc on Friday 11^th September, 2015 was withdrawn from ARD account on Monday 14^th September, 2015 WITHOUT our notice. The promise of the Accounts department to rectify the problem and credit ARD UNTH account with all relevant deductions made from members salary before the end of this present week was also noted.

 

6)     ARD UNTH also noted the demotion of some of our members without any prior notice.

 

RESOLUTIONS

After extensive deliberations, members resolved as follows:

1)      That the 11 week old strike of ARD UNTH will be suspended with effect from 8am of Monday, 21^st September 2015 based on:

i)                   Our due consideration for our patients who have been subjected to immense hardship during the course of the strike action.

 

ii)                The commitment of our CMD, Dr C. C. Amah and our respect for our elders, on the grounds that what happened in 2014 will not repeat itself again.

 

iii)              The sensitive intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari who has in the circular from the HCSF promised to offset all arrears owed civil servants.

 

2)     That members of ARD UNTH will resume this total and indefinite strike action if by the end of September, all the promises made by the UNTH management that should be fulfilled in September for Doctors and patients welfare are not actualized. This serves as a notice for that strike action as there may not be further communication/notice to that effect.

 

3)     That we demand that no member of ARD UNTH should be victimized in any way, for being part of this struggle for our legitimate rights and welfare of patients, both now and in the future.

 

4)     The UNTH management is highly advised in the interest of the patients of UNTH to OBEY the Federal Government directive contained in this circular with reference no; HCSF/428/S.1/128 dated September 14, 2015 and signed by the HCSF Danladi Kifasi and ENSURE they include in their computation, arrears of skipping from January, 2014 till date, and include the percentage they will so deny doctors.

 

Doctors in UNTH will not and cannot tolerate any attempt to us or to wrongly capture our arrears of skipping from January 2014, all advancement arrears, relativity arrears and 2014 teaching allowance arrears.

 

 

5)     Although the UNTH Management has promised to commence 50% implementation of skipping from October 2015, we are still convinced that the UNTH Management has or will soon have the capacity to pay Doctors appropriately. We therefore implore our CMD, Dr C. C. Amah to ensure 100% implementation of federal government circulars on skipping.

 

6)     UNTH Management are also advised to immediately place back all our members who were demoted ‘in pay’ with the August salary and the difference in their salary paid without any further delay. We believe that non reversal of this ill-fated move is capable of generating another round of industrial disharmony. This is preventable and we implore management to take immediate action.

 

7)     That the boreholes being sank in the hospital and the renovations ongoing in the wards for better care of our patients are highly commendable. We insist that these moves should be sustained in the interest of our patients and their relatives.

 

8)    Members once more appreciate the President and commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed forces, Muhammadu Buhari for his intervention and sensitivity to the plights of civil servants in Nigeria. The ‘change’ is here and it is being felt by Nigerians across board.

 

Members also appreciate the Chairman, NMA Enugu State, Dr George Ugwu, the leadership and members of MDCAN UNTH, elders of medical profession in UNTH, the CMD, the CMAC, Dr Mrs Anne Ndu and other members of UNTH management for the roles each of them played in seeing to the end of this impasse. We pray they will use their good offices/positions to prevent further strike actions in the future by insisting on fulfilling all the promises made and obeying all federal government circulars.

 

9)     In a special way, members appreciate the masses and our colleagues in other hospitals in Enugu state, for bearing with us while the strike lasted. We are not insensitive to their plights and the hardship the strike action imposed on them but the situation on ground left us with no option. We also sympathize with those who may have lost their close relatives or friends in the course of our struggle. We believe the strike action has achieved and will achieve more for the patients and their relatives too. The end point of this strike is for better patient care.

We also appreciate the gentlemen of the press, who gave us the enabling environment to express ourselves to the whole Nigerians, we are not unaware that the role you played helped the speedy resolution of this action.

 

10) There is an opportunity now to prevent further industrial actions in UNTH, by the hospital management keeping to their promises. We therefore implore all Nigerians to join us in appealing to the UNTH management never to renege on these promises so as to maintain the calm in UNTH and PREVENT further disruption of services.

ARD UNTH will always be willing to play her role whenever needed.

 

Thanks.

 

Signed:

 

Dr Ugwuoke Aloy Ifedinso                                    Dr Ndiokwelu Chibuzo
President                                                                  General Secretary

 

 

 

Dr Chukwuma C. Oraegbunam

Public relations Officer

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF EMERGENCY CONGRESS MEETING OF ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENT DOCTORS (ARD), UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA TEACHING HOSPITAL (UNTH), WHICH HELD ON FRIDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 2015 AT THE DOCTORS COMMON ROOM, UNTH ITUKU OZALLA ENUGU STATE.

COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF EMERGENCY CONGRESS MEETING OF ASSOCIATION OF RESIDENT DOCTORS (ARD), UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA TEACHING HOSPITAL (UNTH), WHICH HELD ON FRIDAY 11TH SEPTEMBER 2015 AT THE DOCTORS COMMON ROOM, UNTH ITUKU OZALLA ENUGU STATE.

 

The Association of Resident Doctors, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital held an emergency Congress on Friday 11 September, 2015 to update members on the recent events and chat a way forward, in keeping with the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed after a meeting between the UNTH Management and representatives of ARD UNTH recently.

 

OBSERVATIONS

 

1)      Members discussed critically, the MoU reached at the end of the meeting between the UNTH management and representatives of ARD UNTH and observed as follows:

i)                   That the current stand of UNTH management that they do not have resources to pay skipping is the fourth stand they are taking on the issue and this does not represent uprightness.

 

ii)                That members of ARD UNTH who went to see the DDF UNTH were denied access to the warrant of pay of UNTH which should have shown details of how personnel cost of UNTH has been utilized so far, rather they were restricted to the 2015 personnel budget proposal and summaries of GIFMIS payments. This clearly does not satisfy our demands that account books be opened to ascertain the claim by management.

 

iii)              That despite a letter written and submitted on 25^th August, 2015, a day after the meeting with CMD, concerning the salary of house officers and other arrears as advised, salaries were paid over 2weeks later without any form of implementation.

 

iv)               That despite the heartbreaking delay in paying the 2014 teaching allowance arrears to registrars, advancement arrears to deserving members with some lasting as long 3years,  2 months relativity arrears to our numerous deserving members and other arrears owed ARD UNTH, UNTH management has instead of immediately paying off these arrears to assuage members, resorted to making their rather routine promises. Members recalled that the CMD made similar promises last year with well-respected medical elders in UNTH as witnesses but reneged on this promise, little wonder the medical elders have refused to mediate on his behalf during this present impasse.

 

v)                 That nothing significant has been done to improve the services offered by UNTH which is supposed to be one of the apex health institutions in Nigeria. The moribund state of facilities in the hospital including but not limited to Radiotherapy machines, CT scan and MRI machines; lack of necessary drugs and other hospital consumables in the hospital pharmacies; lack of laboratory request forms, prescription sheets and file tags and the current dilapidated state of general wards and consulting clinics have received very little or no attention. The implication is that patients will continue suffering and risking death in travelling to town, sometimes as far as Ibadan to access these services which UNTH ordinarily has the capacity to offer say for lack of commitment.

 

2)     Members also noted that the disregard of the UNTH management for the rule of law and ethical civil service practices has lost further boundary by their recent ill guided action. Members of ARD UNTH who have been promoted for several months now having met all the requirements for such promotions, were recently demoted in pay/salary package WITHOUT any prior notice or understanding reached with those concerned.

 

3)     Members also noted that 3 months deductions made from their salaries for ARD dues and other rather recent deductions made from members’ salaries for ARD UNTH have not been paid into ARD account. Most disheartening is that as far back as December capitation is yet to be paid into ARD account as at the date of the Congress.

 

4)     That our colleagues in Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, National Orthopaedic Hospital Enugu and Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka have since restored services in the various Hospitals because their hospital managements have either commenced implementation of skipping or have made strong commitment towards paying such with the next salary. Members also noted that these colleagues of ours are not being owed 2014 teaching allowance arrears and other heartbreaking arrears being owed Resident Doctors and medical officers in UNTH.

RESOLUTIONS

After an exhaustive and careful debate, members unanimously resolved as follows:

1)      That the 10 week old strike of ARD UNTH will continue indefinitely until the UNTH management makes adequate commitment towards meeting all our legitimate demands because so far, the management has done nothing different from the state of things before the strike commenced.

 

2)     That the UNTH management is advised in the best interest of the numerous patients of UNTH to liaise with their colleagues in Obafemi Awolowo University Ile Ife, Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital Sokoto, National Hospital Abuja, Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki, Federal Medical  Centre Keffi, Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Yaba,  Federal Medical Centre Owo, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa Teaching Hospital Bauchi and the many other Federal Teaching Hospitals in Nigeria where medical doctors are paid their appropriate salaries and hence industrial harmony exist, to ascertain how they achieved this and quickly implement it in UNTH.

 

3)     That the payment of the disheartening Teaching Allowance Arrears, advancement arrears, 2 months relativity arrears, all outstanding update and exam refunds and capitations due to ARD UNTH is sacrosanct and must be cleared to bring our members at par with their colleagues in other centres.

 

4)     That the President, the EXCOs and all volunteering members are mandated to do all within the ambit of the law to expose the injustices being meted out on our members to the whole world and cause the UNTH management to do the needful.

 

5)     That we still demand for the forensic auditing of UNTH personnel records in conjunction with NMA Enugu State and MDCAN UNTH as agreed in a meeting between the NMA and Committee of CMDs/MDs several months ago. This of course will include the critical review of UNTH warrant of pay and nominal roll to ascertain how UNTH personnel cost has been utilized in the past four years at least.

 

6)     That we demand that services offered by UNTH be improved and measures put in place to sustain and add value to the improvements, this will also include putting an end to the unnecessary bureaucratic bottlenecks patients experience in UNTH.

 

7)     That the CMD of UNTH is advised to desist from threatening and intimidating Doctors in UNTH who are on strike in demand for their legitimate rights. Members advised him to channel the threats and display of powers into meeting all our legitimate demands so as to restore services in UNTH which he serves as the leader.

 

8)    That we express our full commitment and support for the 'Change' agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari which has already started yielding enormous and palpable fruits to the ordinary Nigerians. We however appeal to the President to cause the UNTH management to immediately put an end to this impasse by shifting grounds in favour of our demands which are not only legitimate but attainable.

 

9)     That we once more appeal to Nigerians whom our strike has subjected to untoward hardship to please continue bearing with us as unfortunately the UNTH management pushed us into this last option of going on strike. Negotiations on all our demands started over a year ago, but the UNTH management has either reneged or not given adequate attention to/commitment towards resolving these issues thereby pushing us into this very avoidable strike action. We appeal to Nigerians to prevail on the UNTH management through any means possible to attend to our demands and have us return back to work within the shortest possible time.

Signed: 

 

Dr Ugwuoke Aloy Ifedinso                                       Dr Ndiokwelu Chibuzo

President                                                                         General Secretary

 

Dr Chukwuma C. Oraegbunam

Public relations Officer