Members of the Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) at the University of Medical Sciences Teaching Hospital (UNIMEDTH), in Ondo City, headquarters of the Ondo West Local Council Area of Ondo State town, have embarked on an indefinite strike over alleged poor conditions of service.

According to the resident doctors who protested within the premises of the medical facility, the industrial action became imperative following the refusal of the management of the hospital to listen to their plight.

With their demands including a stop to illegal deductions from their salaries, a check on huge payments of taxes, and non-payment of hazard allowance, amongst others, President of the UNIMEDTH ARD, Dr. Olaogbe Kehinde, lamented that the workload was too much for doctors in the hospital.

While revealing that many doctors have resigned while others left without prior notification due to poor conditions of service, Olaogbe stated doctors could no longer work under conditions that undermine their well-being and compromise patient care.

He urged the state government to expedite payment of all outstanding salaries and allowances, improve working conditions in the three centres across the state, and ensure prompt implementation of their demands.

?We demand the correction of irregularities and discrepancies in salary payments, the implementation of the new minimum wage scale, and parity in salary payments with other tertiary hospitals as stipulated in the teaching hospital constitution, among other issues,? Olaogbe said.

?We deeply regret any inconvenience this strike may cause to patients and the public.?

Also, the immediate past president of the striking doctors, Dr. John Matthew, said the disparity between the salary of doctors in Ondo State and other states was huge due to illegal deductions and taxes.

Matthew said many doctors in the state have taken up appointments in other states.

?We will not return to work until our demands are met. Money is the core issue because that is what is driving doctors away. There is a huge disparity in payment between Ondo and Ogun States. Doctors will go to states that are giving doctors good welfare packages, but they are worsening the terrible welfare here.

?The issues are illegal deductions from our salary and the humongous taxes we are paying. It is killing the system and driving doctors away.

?The hospital was disconnected from the national grid, and we were sleeping and working in the dark.?

Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Gbala Micheal, pleaded with the striking doctors for more time to enable management to address their grievances. (The Guardian)

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