Recurrent Strike Actions of Resident Doctors on Remuneration Adjustment, Job Satisfaction and International Migration

Abstract

The paper examined recurrent strike actions of resident doctors on remuneration adjustment, job satisfaction and international migration. The objectives of this study are to examine the extent to which resident doctors utilize strike action to communicate the need for remuneration adjustment, ascertain whether the poor level of job satisfaction of resident doctors is the influence of poor remuneration received, and to determine that poor remuneration is a reason that instigate resident doctors’ migration to foreign countries from public hospitals. The cross-sectional survey was adopted, and 84 doctors from 6 states public hospitals were administered with questionnaire structured in four Likert format of strongly agree, agree, strongly disagree, and disagree. The purposive sampling technique aided the distribution of questionnaires to respondents. The equity theory developed by Adams (1965) was adopted. The retrieved data was analyzed in percentage, mean and standard deviation scores. The findings show that strike is an essential channel to communicate to government about resident doctors remuneration adjustment demand. The findings also reveals that resident doctors job satisfaction is being influence by the poor remuneration they are receiving in public hospitals, and the finding also indicates that most of the resident doctors leave the country because of the poor financial benefits given to them. Based on the findings, the study therefore recommends that governments and legislators should consider the need of expediting policy making and implementation actions that can promote resident doctors’ welfare and working conditions in public hospitals across state and federal levels before or during strike action of doctors for the need of remuneration adjustment.