The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has threatened to embark on a nationwide strike from July 1, 2014 if the Federal Government fails to meet its demand for universal payment for medical workers.
Recall that towards the end of last week, the NMA declared an industrial dispute with the Federal Government through a letter addressed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation dated June 11, 2014.
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The Chairman of Kaduna State chapter of NMA, Dr. Aliyu Usman Bappa, who made this known yesterday, while addressing journalists at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) secretariat in Kaduna, said the body had tried in vain to resolve the lingering issues with the government.
He said: “We are embarking on strike after we had made several attempts to resolve the issue, but it seems the only language the government understands is strike. It is not our wish.
“We are not demanding for any new thing but what is obtainable the world over. So, if the government can resolve other sector’s problem who had earlier demanded for similar issue, we don’t see any reason the same government would not want to solve the problem of the health sector, knowing too well it occupies a very crucial position in the country.
“Let me state clearly that NMA recognises the evolving complexity of health care worldwide, but as the care of the patient assumes an increasingly multi-disciplinary dimension, the need for a clear definition of roles and responsibilities of all the actors becomes even more absolute.
“NMA’s perennial call on the Federal Government is to carry out the important restructuring and alignment of the health sector in keeping with global trends. It is unfortunate, however, that rather than partner with the NMA and other stakeholders in pursuing this patriotic objective, government has resorted to mere subterfuge and ‘divide-and-rule’ tactics.
“It is on record that since the emergence of this avoidable disaster, which is bred largely by government’s inaction and/or outright complicity, the NMA has shown the highest level of maturity and understanding in the interest of our patients and in the mistaken belief that reason will eventually triumph above petty politics.”
“Our minimum demand is simple: that government should restore order to the health sector by adopting and enforcing international best practice. Any measure short of this will be vehemently resisted by the NMA.”
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