Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour, has threated to invoke weapons in the labour laws on resident doctors, if they refuse to back down on the ongoing strike.
The Federal Government had met some of the demands of the doctors.
However, they embarked on indefinite strike on Thursday over salary arrears and owed allowances.
Speaking on Friday, when he featured on Channels Television programme, Politics Today, Ngige said employers of the resident doctors can invoke the no-work-no-pay rule.
“By Tuesday, I will invite them back (referring to NARD). If they become recalcitrant, there are things I can do”, he said.
“There are weapons in the labour laws I will invoke. There is ‘no work, no pay’. Their employers have a role also to keep their businesses afloat, to keep patients alive. They can employ local doctors.”
The minister noted that he is optimistic that the matter will be resolved within a few days, as meetings have been arranged to clear the backlog of salaries and allowances.
Ngige, however, expressed optimism that the situation will not get to when the government would use the “stick” against the doctors.
“We won’t get there. If we are going to get there, we’ll use that stick,” he added.
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