The Ondo State Government has commenced the payment of salary arrears to resident Doctors at the University of Medical Science Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), who had on Tuesday embarked on a 14-day warning strike to protest the non-payment of their salary and allowance arrears.
Penpushing reports that the striking medica personnel received payments for their salary arrears on Wednesday, a day after they embarked on a 14-day warning strike, as confirmed by the Head of Service, Bayo Phillip
The number civil servant in a statement on Thursday, disclosed that the government started paying resident Doctors at the institution the two months’ arrears of hazard allowance and new employees their four to five months’ salary arrears, as promised.
‘It is true that Governor Aiyedatiwa inherited both the medical hazard allowance and salary arrears of interns made up of House Officers, Nurses, Pharmacists, etc. The government has not only taken concrete steps to resolve the matter but has commenced the payment of the arrears. The striking doctors have received a 2-month hazard allowance as agreed, while the interns are being paid the whole 4 – 5 months’ arrears owed them’, he said.
Penpushing further reports that the state government equally explained that it was making efforts to bring its health workers’ salaries to be on a par with those of their counterparts in other states of the country.
‘A joint committee comprising government and NMA officials is already meeting on the issue of salary disparity between Ondo State and other sister states, and this will be atualised as soon as the committee submits its report,” the statement said.
Penpushing also reports that the body of the resident Doctors through the President, Dr John Mattew while reacting to the development confirmed the payments by the state government, indicating that the ongoing strike might soon end.
“Yes, yesterday, we started receiving the salary arrears of the affected persons, palliative arrears, and our hazard allowance. But some persons are yet to be paid, and we have begun to collate the names of members yet to be paid. We will call off our strike as soon as that is done.”
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