President Bola Tinubu on Friday approved the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order on Resident Doctors, which will allow the members of the NARD to receive the salaries that were previously withheld during the 17-day strike action.
In a statement, Ajuri Ngelale, the president’s spokesperson, said Tinubu’s exceptional waiver will be the last one to be granted to the National Association of Resident Doctors and all other health sector unions.
The statement said, “Invoking the Principle of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, President Bola Tinubu has approved the waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order that was instituted against striking members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on August 1, 2023, following the commencement of their industrial action, which began on July 26, 2023.
After several constructive engagements between the Federal Government and NARD, the Resident Doctors called off their strike on August 12, 2023. During the 17 days of their strike action, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation received a directive to withhold all salaries earned by striking NARD members.
In view of the faithful implementation of terms that were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between the Resident Doctors and the Federal Government of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has directed the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order on Resident Doctors, which will allow for the members of the NARD to receive the salaries that were previously withheld during the 17-day strike action.
The President has directed the grant of the waiver with the mandatory requirement that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must secure a Document of Understanding (DoU) establishing that this exceptional waiver granted by the President will be the last one to be granted to the National Association of Resident Doctors and all other health sector unions.
