The Nigerian government has threatened to invoke the ‘no work no pay rule’ on resident doctors that embarked on an indefinite strike on Thursday.
Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, disclosed this while featuring on Channels Television programme on Friday.
Ngige said the government would by next week commence a “no work no pay “sanction to compel striking doctors to resume work.
“By Tuesday, I will invite them back. If they become recalcitrant, there are other things I can do. There are weapons in the Labour Laws; I will invoke them. There is no work, no pay,” Ngige said.
“Their employers have a role also to keep their business afloat, to keep patients alive. They can employ local doctors. We won’t get there, but we will use that stick if we are going to get there.”
Resident doctors all over the country had on Thursday morning embarked on strike despite the Nigerian government’s last-minute efforts to stop the action.
Among other things, the doctors want their four-month salaries paid, and other allowances and demands met.
The doctors are on strike at a time when President Muhammadu Buhari is in London for a medical check-up.
