An Industrial Court sitting in Abuja has stopped the management of Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH) from sacking its resident doctors.
Th e condition under which JUTH, was moved to sack the doctors, relied on the federal government circular of 2013, which stipulated that the doctors could serve for only six years.
Objecting to the FG circular of 2013, the doctors, through their Counsel, Mr. Gyang Zi, cited what they said was the “most recent circular”, dated April 20, 2016.
In the 2016 circular, doctors are allowed to serve for between nine and 10 years, depending on their departments.
In an exparte motion, Zi urged the court to restrain JUTH’s management from sacking the doctors.
He argued that sacking them without allowing them to serve the mandatory 10 years was “a fl agrant abuse and violation of the federal government’s circular of April 20, 2016.
” Th e vacation judge of the Industrial Court, Justice Waziri Abali, in his ruling, directed the JUTH’s management to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the substantive case fi led against it by the doctors.
“Both parties are to maintain the status quo until the determination of this motion on notice.
“Th e other parties in this matter should be put on notice so that the motion on notice can be heard and determined as soon as possible,” he ruled.
Abali whose assignment as the court’s vacation judge ends September 8, informed that the President of Industrial Court of Nigeria would assign the case to any judge to carry on with the matter whenever the Judges resume.
