UCH Resident Doctors resume work after lengthy strike

Resident doctors at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, have ended their month-long nationwide strike and resumed duties.

The strike, which began on November 1, was declared by the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) after the government failed to meet their demands.

The doctors had sought a 200 percent increase in the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, full implementation of new allowances proposed since July 2022, immediate recruitment of clinical staff, and the removal of bureaucratic hurdles delaying the replacement of existing doctors.

Dr. Gboyega Ajibola, President of UCH NARD, said the NARD National Executive Council met on November 29 to review the situation and noted that the government had addressed most of their immediate and short-term demands.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the government, detailing the association’s demands and the timelines for their implementation. “Based on the satisfactory terms of the MoU, the NARD NEC decided to suspend the industrial action and allow the government four weeks to execute the agreed points,” Ajibola said.

In keeping with NARD tradition, each centre held a congress on December 1 to update members on the developments. After the briefing, centre presidents directed all resident doctors to return to their posts. Ajibola confirmed that all resident doctors at UCH resumed work on Monday.