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UITH resident doctors begin warning strike, alleges victimisation  

By Daniel Ayantoye

Doctors under the aegis of Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital have embarked on a five-day warning strike over non-payment of full salary.
The protest which took place at the hospital premises had members of ARD displaying placards with inscriptions, “Say no to 60% Salary; “We have suffered enough; “Mr.CMD disobedience to government directives is illegal and “Underpayment of UITH resident doctors is deliberate by the CMD,”  among others.
The President of ARD, Dr. Ige Kolawole while speaking with this medium explained that the continuous protest was motivated by the refusal of the management to pay 100 per cent salary to his members.
“The protest as well as five days warning strike is all about the refusal of the management to implement the payment of our full salary. Before now, we have been collecting between 56 to 70 per cent of our salary,” he lamented.
Kolawole, who also said the deduction, is peculiar to UITH, as other Teaching Hospitals across the country do not have such problem, noted that the facility’s management has not given feasible explanation on why the deduction has continued.
According to him, the only reason given by the Chief Medical Director of the hospital was that an additional 150 house officers were employed, which Kolawole claimed was carried out without due authorisation from appropriate authorities.
He however alleged that the CMD has been victimising doctors in the hospital with ‘No work, No Pay’ policy, adding that due to the strike they embarked upon last year, they were yet to receive two months’ salary.
While responding to the allegation in a telephone chat, the Chief Medical Director of UITH, Abdulwaheed Olatinwo, queried, “Victimising who? Nobody is victimising anyone. We are only acting according to the Federal Government rule as directed by the Head of Service and not me.
“If there is an order by the FG, will I now say I will not carry it out? What about places they owe 8-month salary and moreover is it the employee that determine salary or the employer”?
“They should direct their agitations to the Federal Government and not me. Interestingly, from the communiqué issued last week by their national body, they urged government to help in the review of their salary, so it is a national issue,” the CMD submitted.

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