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UCH doctors commence five-day warning strike over IPPIS implementation

The Association of Resident Doctors, University College Hospital (UCH) Chapter, Ibadan, has embarked on a five-day warning strike over unpaid two-month salaries of its 370 members.

Dr Temitope Hussein told newsmen on Wednesday, March 17, in Ibadan that the strike would end on Saturday.

He said that the strike was to press home their protests over non-payment of the January and February salaries of the affected members.

According to him, 233 of the association’s members have also not been enrolled into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and consequently affecting the payment of their emoluments.

Hussein said that the hospital’s management has not been responsive to the dialogue initiated by the association.

He, however, expressed hopes that at the expiration of the warning strike, an agreement would be reached.

Reacting, the spokesperson of the hospital, Mr Akintoye Akinrinlola, described as unfortunate the decision of the association to embark on a warning strike.

Akinrinlola said that the issues raised “are national issues rather than issues peculiar to the hospital’’.

According to him, the payment of salaries in UCH, which is a government-owned hospital, is done by the Federal Government.

The spokesperson said that although the national body of the association, the National Association of Resident Doctors was poised to embark on a national strike, it had held off on the action following interventions of the National Assembly and the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria.

“NARD’s decision to embark on a nationwide strike is currently on hold pending outcomes of meetings with stakeholders including the Minister of Health.

“Resident doctors in UCH are not the only ones affected by the non-payment of salaries and IPPIS data capturing.

Other doctors in other hospitals owned by the Federal Government are also affected and the Federal Government has started a dialogue with NARD to resolve the issue,’’ he said.

The Federal Government says the issue of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would soon be resolved.

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this on Tuesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

Ngige said the Ministries of Finance, Education, Labour and Employment and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation will meet with the body.

“The issue of ASUU will soon come to an end,” he said. “Two reasons – ASUU have called the Federal Government represented by Finance and the Accountant-General Office and their direct employers, the Ministry of Education to come for the test.”

Ngige’s remarks come three days after ASUU said it had not called off its nationwide industrial action which started in March.

According to ASUU Vice President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the strike is still in force until the Federal Government meets their demands.

**Minister of Labour** and Employment, Chris Ngige

Also, President of the union, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, had vowed that the union would sustain its ongoing strike action until its requirements were met.

Ogunyemi said ASUU was asking the Federal Government to implement the 2012 universities’ needs assessment.

The ASUU leader had during a press conference on March 23, announced the nationwide strike, adding that the union rejected the use of force to enrol on Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS).

The National Universities Commission ordered universities across the country to close for a month, beginning from March 23, due to the outbreak of coronavirus.