Nigeria’s health sector is about to face another round of crisis as the resident doctors have resolved to commence a nationwide indefinite industrial action tomorrow (Monday).

This is coming as the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has given the federal government and the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) a 21-day ultimatum to halt persistent cut in wages of members or face total and indefinite nationwide strike action.

The resident doctors, under the auspices of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), said they would embark on the strike due to the failure by the federal and state governments to attend to the issues affecting the welfare of its members.

The doctors said they were dismayed that despite several meetings with the Presidential Committee on Salaries and other top government stakeholders on the review of hazard allowance for health workers, the allowance still remained a paltry sum of N5,000.

They also noted the alleged non-payment of COVID-19 inducement allowance to some of its members in federal and state tertiary institutions.

In a communiqué issued at the end of their National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, NARD said:

After critical appraisal of the performance of both federal and state governments on all the issues affecting the welfare of our members as observed above and the insincerity of government in implementing the Memorandum of Action after 113 days, the NEC unanimously resolved by vote to resume the total and indefinite strike action from 08.00hrs on Monday, August 2, 2021.

The doctors demanded the immediate withdrawal of the circular removing House Officers from the scheme of service.

They also decried the undue hardship doctors on GIFMIS platform were facing due to the delays in payment of their salary arrears ranging from three to seven months.

NARD further expressed concern over the poor response of most state governments in domesticating the Medical Residency Training Act of 2017 while commending states like Delta and Benue, which have adopted the law.

In addition, NARD lamented the acute manpower shortage in most tertiary health institutions and the attendant burnout effects on its members.

It said the situation has been made worse by the ongoing deadly brain drain decimating the nation’s healthcare system.

The association also accused the Registrar of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, Dr. T B Sanusi of non- remittance of its membership dues.

It stated that its members were committed to the smooth running of the health sector, adding however that they can only do so when their welfare is given the desired attention.

However, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige had said a lot of progress had been made in the implementation of the Memorandum of Agreement with the resident doctors.

Speaking shortly after a recent meeting of the federal government’s team with NARD at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Ngige said substantial progress was made in operationalising the insurance scheme.

Consultants Give FG 21-day Ultimatum

Meanwhile, MDCAN has given 21-day ultimatum to the federal government and NSIWC to halt persistent cut in wages of members or face total and indefinite nationwide strike action.
THISDAY gathered that the ultimatum took effect from July 26, 2021.

Addressing a press conference in Jos, Plateau State, the President and Secretary of MDCAN, Professor Ken Ozoilo and Dr. Moses Chingle, respectively, said it was disheartening that consultants teaching in universities across the country have continued to suffer underpayment for over 10 years.

In the joint statement read by Ozoilo, they said:

This income loss is the result of the fact that their work in the teaching hospitals is under-compensated, and also the fact that the remuneration system in the university does not recognise them as doctors, despite the fact that the University primarily employs them because of the fact that they are doctors.

Explaining further, Ozoilo said:

This income loss has led to the increasing difficulty in attracting the brightest and the best of consultants into the university as lecturers, a steady exodus of the few doctors in academia to service centres and a worsening of the brain drain phenomenon.

He added that a letter from NSIWC dated, April 23, 2021, with reference number: SWC/S/04/S.410/T/86 to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation had directed the removal of doctors who are lecturers from the CONMESS Salary Scale on the IPPIS platform for the payment of their salaries in the universities, a development he described as unacceptable.

Ozoilo said MDCAN had made several efforts to engage various arms and agencies of government with the aim of achieving a negotiated peaceable solution in the past 10 years to no avail.

He stressed that efforts had been made by some federal universities to ameliorate the income loss by payment of clinical lecturers in those institutions on CONMESS Salary Scale in the university relying on appropriate and relevant circulars issued by government, adding that the letter from NSIWC had directed the removal of the consultants from CONMESS in those few universities is absolutely the last straw.

Ozoilo said:

Consequently, MDCAN has resolved to withdraw the services of its members from all public institutions to press home its demand for an appropriate, fair and just compensation for the work of clinical lecturers. NEC therefore, hereby issues a 21-day ultimatum effective from today, Monday, July 26, 2021 to government and its agencies as a notice of its resolve.

According to him,

We demand immediate withdrawal of the NSIWC letter Ref no: SWC/S/04/S.410/T/86 of 23rd April 2021 directing the removal of doctors from CONMESS on the IPPIS platform in the university. A directive that all universities previously paying their clinical lecturers on CONMESS Scale, before the aforesaid NSIWC letter should revert back to that practice immediately.

All clinical lecturers in the remaining universities should be placed on CONMESS Scale for the purpose of their remuneration in the university. Alternatively, award of a compensation for the income loss incurred by doctors in the university on account of being lecturers, provided that this shall also reflect in their pension contributions.

Justin Nwosu

Justin Nwosu is the founder and publisher of Flavision. His core interest is in writing unbiased news about Nigeria in particular and Africa in general. He’s a strong adherent of investigative journalism, with a bent on exposing corruption, abuse of power and societal ills.