Numerous people in need of care were left in hospital waiting rooms as doctors across Sierra Leone went on an indefinite strike on Monday in protest of their low pay and lack of benefits.
The government terminated the doctors’ monthly COVID-19 risk allowance and tax deduction in May, the doctors claimed, and as a result, they lost between 20 and 40 percent of their take-home pay.
Additionally, they want 45 liters of fuel every week, which they claim has been promised but never given.
In the nation of West Africa, doctors similarly organised strikes in 2018 and 2020 to protest low salary, unfavorable working conditions, and unpaid bonuses. The health outcomes in Sierra Leone are among the worst in the world.
On Monday, News Central reported that the Nigerian Government was given two weeks to implement the new National Minimum Wage and Hazard allowance or risk prolonged industrial action, according to the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
Demby claimed that it is quite challenging to comprehend why a strike is necessary.
The NARD, lamenting that the situation was embarrassing, appealed to the federal government, the Nigerian Governors Forum, stakeholders, and well-meaning Nigerians to pressure the governors of Imo, Ondo, Ekiti, and Gombe states to swiftly pay arrears of salaries and allowances owed to its members in the tertiary health institutions.
The administration declared that the demands of the doctors had been addressed and that salary increases will take effect in September. Weekly fuel coupons will also be distributed, according to Austin Demby, minister of health.
The association demanded that the federal government and all state governments look into the problem of doctors assault, thoroughly investigate the continuing cases, and put measures in place to stop the threat in its tracks and prevent future occurrences.