The basic doctor wage increase of 25% and the accoutrement allowance have been rejected by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
The Consolidated Medical Salary Structure should be fully restored to its appropriate value as of the moment the structure was approved in 2009, according to the association’s National Executive Council (NEC), which made the decision on Saturday.
The doctors also insisted that the ongoing entire nationwide strike would not end unless the government made reasonable progress toward addressing their demands as outlined in their ultimatum delivered to the federal government on July 5.
The protesting doctors stated their stance in a statement that was jointly signed by the President, Dr. Orji Emeka Innocent, the Secretary-General, Dr. Chikezie Kelechi, and the Publicity & Social Secretary, Dr. Uma Musa. They called the 25% a “paltry” figure and vowed the strike will continue.
They demanded the immediate release of the circular on the One-for-One policy for the replacement of exited clinical workers for implementation in the “LasGIDI 2023” communique, which was issued at the conclusion of its NEC meeting with the theme “Bullying in Medical Practice: a matter of Perspective?” They could not stand by and watch their members lose their lives and crumble under the strain of work overload caused by the massive depletion of clinical staff in the hospitals.
They noted that despite numerous government assurances, the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) has still not received payment.
“After careful consideration, NEC resolved as: to demand the immediate payment of all salaries and arrears, including the salary arrears for 2014 to 2016; arrears of hazard allowance; arrears of consequential adjustment of the minimum wage; and arrears of promotion;
“To call on the MDCN to reverse herself on the downgrading of the membership certificate as this is an ill wind that blows no one good, adding that continuing on this path would only reduce the value placed on the postgraduate medical training in Nigeria;
“To call on the governors of Abia, Kaduna, and Enugu states as well as other states where our members’ welfare is neglected, to as a matter of urgency look into these challenges to resolve them amicably;
“For the avoidance of doubt, these governors are expected to among others, clear all salary backlogs, pay promotion arrears, adopt/review the CONMESS salary structure, review the hazard allowance, and domesticate the medical residency training act as well as pay the MRTF using the new circular issued by NSIWC in January 2023 (as was done by their counterparts in Delta, Benue Ogun and Osun states);
“To vehemently reject the casualization of doctors under any guise in all tertiary health institutions in Nigeria, warning that this could be a subject of industrial action shortly if not nipped in the bud now;
“To call for the immediate unconditional release of our trainer, Prof. Ekanem Philip-Ephraim of UCTH Calaber, and to call on the government to beef up security in the country to forestall such occurrences;
“To persuade the federal government to consider ways of placating Nigerians who have to grapple daily with the burden of living in the post-subsidy era, while calling on the government to ensure that savings from the subsidy removal would be prudently utilized for the common good.”
They further appealed to the Federal and state governments to urgently resolve these demands to forestall the further escalation of the ongoing industrial disharmony in the health sector nationwide.