The Federal Government has appealed to resident doctors to consider the plight of 80 per cent of the citizenry in need of healthcare and not proceed on strike.
The government said the country was in a bad state of health because of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the medical sector.
At a reconciliatory meeting with the leadership of National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on Wednesday in Abuja, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said majority of the welfare issues under contention were almost resolved even before the letter of complaint and notification of a planned strike action was delivered at the ministry.
The meeting was still ongoing at the conference room of the minister as of the time of filing this report.
Ngige, before the meeting went into a closed session, said government had started discussions on hazard health allowance for health workers in the country.
He noted that as a conciliator, the complaints of the doctors have been adequately communicated to the relevant ministries.
The Minister added several meetings have been ongoing and proposals drawn to address the situation before it degenerates into a strike.
