Resident doctors of Anambra State-owned Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital have rejected the new minimum wage offer presented to them by the state governor, Willie Obiano.The president of the Resident Doctors Association of the institution, Dr Obinna Aniagbaso, while conveying the governor’s message to members during its meeting on Tuesday in Awka, the state capital, said the governor offered to pay them the newly approved minimum wage.
He said, “According to the governor, that would amount to N12,000 increment across the board to Anambra State civil servants as soon as the national guidelines are released.”
He said the governor during a meeting with him expressed dissatisfaction with the poor payment of salaries to the doctors and admitted that it was due to low Internally Generated Revenue of the state.
Aniagboso added, “The governor promised to revisit resident doctors’ salaries issue in one year’s time when the Internally Generated Revenue of the may have increased. On hearing the message, the members raised their voice shouting, “No, No, No.”
They expressed shock and disappointment at the minimum wage offer, wondering why COOUTH doctors should be neglected for long. They insisted that full payment of their salary should retrospectively commence from April 2019 as agreed to by the government in their meeting in January, this year.
One of them said, “We’ll no longer continue to receive 40 percent of our salary. We are languishing in penury with no progress in our residency training. Many doctors keep on leaving this place and the hospital will remain stagnant if nothing is done urgently to arrest the situation.”
They condemned what they called “devious tactics” and insincerity of the hospital management. In the end, they took a unanimous resolution to continue the indefinite strike until their demands were met.
“We are continuing with the strike action pending the implementation of 100 percent of CONMESS as obtained elsewhere. Let the government approve and grant in-service training for all qualified medical officers,” the doctors stated.
Source: Pharmatimes
