Members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH) in Ondo state have commenced an indefinite strike over alleged poor conditions of service.
The striking doctors were said to have protested on Monday and demanded a stop to illegal deductions from their salaries and non-payment of hazard allowance.
Olaogbe Kehinde, president of the association, said many doctors resigned without prior notification due to poor conditions of service.
Olaogbe said the hospital management refused to heed the association’s request for a review of the doctors’ working conditions.
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He said doctors could no longer work under conditions that undermine their well-being and urged the state government to expedite the implementation of their demands.
“We demand the correction of irregularities and discrepancies in salary payments, the implementation of the new minimum wage scale, and parity in salary payments with other tertiary hospitals as stipulated in the teaching hospital constitution, among other issues,” he said.
“We deeply regret any inconvenience this strike may cause to patients and the public.”
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John Matthew, immediate past president of the association, said the disparity between the salary of doctors in Ondo and other states is largely due to illegal deductions and taxes.
“We will not return to work until our demands are met. Money is the core issue because that is what is driving doctors away. There is a huge disparity in payment between Ondo and Ogun States,” Mathew said.
“Doctors will go to states that are giving doctors good welfare packages, but they are worsening the terrible welfare here.
“The issues are illegal deductions from our salary and the humongous taxes we are paying. It is killing the system and driving doctors away.
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“The hospital was disconnected from the national grid, and we were sleeping and working in the dark.”
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