President Bola Ahmed 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.
The order was instituted against the doctors following the commencement of their industrial action, which began on July 26, 2023.
The strike was called off by the resident doctors on August 12, 2023, but the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation was directed to withhold all salaries.
A statement released on Friday in Abuja by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity read.
“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. The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation was directed to withhold all salaries accrued by striking NARD members during the 17 days of their strike action.
“In view of the faithful implementation of terms which 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 which were previously withheld during the 17-day strike action.
The President has directed the grant of the waiver with a 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.
Similarly, “President Bola Tinubu has approved the partial waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order that was instituted against striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU),”
“The order follows the eight-month industrial action embarked on by ASUU members, which began on February 14, 2022 and was terminated on October 17, 2022.
“In view of his determination to mitigate the difficulties being felt during the implementation of key economic reforms in the country, as well as his recognition of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between ASUU 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 ASUU, which will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four (4) months of salary accruals out.
The amount is to be paid out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union.
The president also directed the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to secure a Document of Understanding (DoU) from ASUU.
The DoU is to establish that this exceptional waiver granted by the President will be the last to be granted to ASUU and all other Education Sector Unions.
