20th October, 2023
Members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) will now be paid for the 17 days they were on strike earlier in the year after President Bola Tinubu waived the ‘no work, no pay order’ instituted against them by the Federal Government.
However, Tinubu said the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must secure a Document of Understanding (DoU) that the waiver will be the last one to be granted to Resident Doctors and all other health sector unions.
The Resident Doctors were on strike between July 26, 2023 and August 12. The Federal Government had on 1 August instituted the ‘no work, no pay’ order against them with the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation directed to withhold their salaries during the 17 days of their strike action.
However, presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale in a statement on Friday said President Tinubu invoked the ‘Principle of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy’ to approve the waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order against the Resident Doctors.
He said this would allow the Resident Doctors to be paid for the 17 days they were on strike. Ngelale added in the statement that the waiver was part of the agreement reached between the Federal Government and the Resident Doctors to call off the strike.
The presidency however warned that such a waiver will be the last that will be granted the Resident Doctors and all other health sector unions by the Tinubu administration.
“In view of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between the Resident Doctors and the Federal Government of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has directed the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order on Resident Doctors, which will allow for the members of the NARD to receive the salaries which were previously withheld during the 17-day strike action.
“The President has directed the grant of the waiver with a mandatory requirement that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must secure a Document of Understanding (DoU) establishing that this exceptional waiver granted by the President will be the last one to be granted to the National Association of Resident Doctors and all other Health Sector Unions”