Enugu Set To Pay Teachers Four Years Leave Allowances, As Resident Doctors At Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Awka Serve Strike Notice

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The Enugu State Government has approved the sum of over N1.9 billion for the payments of Teachers’ leave  allowances.

The leave allowances are for  a four-year period.

This is just as Resident Doctors at the Chukuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University Teaching Hospital COOTH, Amaku, near Awka the Anambra state capital are gearing up for an industrial action over non payments of their allowances and poor medical infrastructural facilities at the tertiary Hospital.

A statement on Monday July 8, 2024 by Governor Peter Mba’s Media office said the step is in  keeping with an earlier promise by the State Chief Executive to off-set the teachers entitlements .

“The payments are also in line with the administration’s commitment towards improving the general wellbeing of teachers in Enugu state with the intent to enhancing their productivity”, the statement further noted.

Similarly ,the statement said that it is “Governor Mba’s conviction that for the children to access quality education,the welfare of the teachers has to be prioritized.”

The recent gesture comes on the heels of the extension of the payments of the N30,00  minimum wage in the state to serving teachers.

NARD- COOUTH hinted on Monday, that its members may be  forced to withdraw their services any moment if there is no improvement in their working conditions.

President of the umbrella body of the doctors, Dr Onyebuchi Ichoko, at a media interaction, said the mandatory 21-day notice required before the commencement of strike action has been exhausted.

He informed that the decision to proceed on indefinite industrial action was reached at the body’s general meeting following the expiry of the 21 day notice.

Part of the demands of the Doctors include, hazard allowance, medical residency training fund, and the implementation of a 25 percent increase in basic salary effective July 2023 .

“After the expiration of the 21 working day notice given to the State Government, to implement the basic demands of the resident doctors or face a strike action, we held an OGM where our members unanimously voted for a strike action.

“But the Executive pleaded for time so that we could reach out to the Governor for an urgent intervention.” Dr Ichoku stated

The NARD president noted ,that before now,they had made several futile attempts to the draw the attention of the authorities to  the plights of the doctors..

He blamed the current problem of brain drain within the sector on the poor working conditions of Doctors in the country,with the ones available being subjected to undue pressure.

The NARD -COOTH lamented that all their demands have since been implemented at the Federal level .