From Fred Ezeh, Abuja
Medical Doctors in FCT under the umbrella of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), said they may soon consider industrial action that would disrupt medical services in public hospitals, thus reawakening the consciousness of government to plight of the doctors.
The doctors believe that such peaceful action will compel the FCT Administration to attend to their welfare and other demands which have lingered unnecessary for a long time.
ARD-FCT in a statement, registered its displeasure with the poor interest of the FCT Administration to provide permanent solution to the industrial disharmony which, they said, has affected the commitment and dedication of the doctors to their responsibilities.
ARD-FCT Chairman, Dr. Nnamdi Ezuma, in the statement, explained that the issues in contest are not recent events but ones that have lingered on for several years despite various negotiation by the health workers especially the Resident Doctors.
He said: “This issues ranges from unpaid salaries for some months in 2019, promotion arrears from 2016, 2017, 2018; COVID-19 allowances for the workers at isolation centres, skipping of newly employed doctors, among others. Health workers in the FCTA are seriously groaning under these issues.”
One of the affected doctors who pleaded anonymity said, “it’s quite unfair to the health workers especially the Resident Doctors in FCT who have their work place as the only source of income.
“Imagine that Doctors that were promoted and backdated are yet to be paid their earned arrears since 2016. Most of them are now due for another promotion and that had created unnecessary backlogs”.
She said that it was pertinent that in these times of COVID-19 pandemic, the health care frontline workers are given priority considering that quite a number of them are being infected on a daily.
“It’s believed that the more these issues pile up the more the uncertainty of the calmness of the health sector,” she said.