By Simon Ebegbulem
BENIN CITY — THE Association of Resident Doctors, ARD, University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, has vowed to continue its industrial action until the Federal Government pays the December 2010 teaching allowances.

The association accused the Federal Government and the Salaries and Wages Commission of starving  chief medical directors in Federal Government-owned hospitals of funds, describing as sad, the persistent shortfall in allocation for salaries and wages in the health sector.

It will be recalled that the association embarked on indefinite strike action since December 31, 2010, following alleged failure of the authorities of the UBTH to pay members of the association their teaching allowance for December, which according to them, was supposed to be part of their salaries.

Addressing newsmen in Benin City, yesterday, the President of the ARD, UBTH, Dr. Ehigiator Adayonfo, and Secretary, Dr. Harrison Omokhua, lamented that in the last six months, allocations from the Federal Ministry of Finance for salaries and wages had been coming short of what was required to pay full salaries of workers in the health sector.

“In the UBTH, salaries for November 2010 was delayed and eventually paid in batches because of the shortfall. Again, in December 2010, shortfall posed a menace to the payment of salary, to the extent that only consolidated salary and later call duty allowance were paid.

As we speak now, a part of the salary of members of the ARD UBTH called Teaching allowance is yet to be paid on account of this short fall,” Adayonfo explained.

He added that due to the failure to pay this teaching allowance, “ led to the commencement of the on_going strike action after all mechanisms of alternative dispute resolution failed.

Therefore, we use this medium to appeal to the Federal Government to release enough money to UBTH management to pay the living wage of workers. We have resolved that until the teaching allowance for December, 2010 is paid, the strike continues”.