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ABUTH Resident Doctors Initiate 5-Day Warning Strike |
Resident doctors at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital (ABUTH) in Zaria have commenced a five-day warning strike to urge the management to address their salary grievances.
Dr. Ashiru Mikail, Vice President of the hospital’s chapter of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), announced this development during a briefing in Zaria.
He stated that the warning strike began early Monday morning after the expiration of a one-week ultimatum given to the hospital management to resolve the issue.
Dr. Mikail mentioned that if the management fails to address their demands after the warning strike, the association would reconvene to review its strategy and determine the next course of action.
The association's demands include the rejection of percentage salary payments for members on the GIFMIS platform and the immediate repayment of previously withheld portions of doctors' salaries.
He added, “Last month, the salaries of affected members were reduced by about 25 to 27 percent, amounting to deductions of N58,000 to N60,000.”
“Additionally, these doctors, who were paid in percentage in June 2024, are also owed salary arrears dating back to 2021,” he noted.
Despite the challenging economic conditions in the country, no valid reason was provided by the management for the deductions.
Dr. Mikail stated that the hospital management proposed to pay N2 million per month from the overhead cost to offset the arrears of accoutrement allowance.
He revealed that this amount could only provide N5,000 to each doctor per month, compared to the N100,000 owed to each member.
“More than 60 percent of Federal Health Tertiary institutions in the North West zone have started paying the arrears of accoutrement allowance, but ABUTH has yet to comply,” he said.
“The management only proposes to pay N5,000 instead of the N25,000 due to each member,” Dr. Mikail added.
The association is also demanding the implementation of a 25 percent upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) for members on the GIFMIS platform.
