The National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) has started a five-day warning strike due to unpaid salaries for some members. Vice President Dr. Ashiru Mikail announced this during a news conference in Zaria on Monday.
The association had previously issued a one-week ultimatum to the hospital’s management on July 15 to address their demands. The ultimatum expired on Sunday, prompting the warning strike. After the strike, the association plans to reassess its strategy to determine the next steps.
Dr. Mikail stated that the association opposes percentage salary payments for members on the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform and demands the repayment of withheld salary portions. In June, affected members experienced a salary reduction of approximately 25 to 27%, amounting to ₦58,000 to ₦60,000, without any satisfactory explanation from the management.
Additionally, the management proposed paying ₦2 million per month to offset arrears of accoutrement allowance from the overhead cost, which translates to only ₦5,000 per member monthly, far below the ₦100,000 owed to each member. Dr. Mikail highlighted that over 60% of Federal Tertiary Health Institutions in the North West zone have started paying the arrears of accoutrement allowance, while ABUTH has not met the same standard.
The association is also demanding the implementation of a 25% upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for members on the GIFMIS platform, among other demands.