[Nigeria] Resident doctors reject 25% pay rise saying strike will continue

On July 29, Nigeria’s National Executive Council (NEC) of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) rejected a 25 per cent increase in the basic salary of doctors and an accoutrement allowance, Vanguard reports.

NARD insisted that its earlier demand for full restoration of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to its 2009 value should stand.

In addition, the doctors reportedly insisted that there would be no going back on the ongoing nationwide and indefinite strike until the government made reasonable progress to address the demands contained in their ultimatum, issued to the federal government on July 5.

Declaring their position in a statement jointly signed by the President, Dr Orji Emeka Innocent, Secretary-General, Dr Chikezie Kelechi, and Publicity & Social Secretary, Dr Uma Musa, the striking doctors described the 25 per cent offer as ‘paltry’ and said that the strike continues.

The communique was issued at the end of its NEC meeting in Lagos and entitled “Bullying in Medical Practice: a matter of Perspective?”

The joint statement reportedly demanded the immediate release of a circular on the One-for-One policy for the replacement of departed clinical workers. It stated that NARD cannot continue to watch members lose their lives and break down under the weight of work caused by the massive ‘brain drain’ depletion of clinical staff in hospitals.

The doctors observed that the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) has not been paid despite a number of promises made by the government.

The communique reads, “After critical consideration, NEC resolved as: to demand the payment of all salaries and arrears including the salary arrears of 2014-2016, arrears of hazard allowance, arrears of consequential adjustment of the minimum wage, and promotion arrears to our deserving members without further delay;

“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.”

In the communique, NARD reportedly appealed to Federal and state governments to urgently meet doctors’ demands and diffuse any further escalation of the ongoing industrial disharmony in the health sector nationwide.

Source: Vanguard

(Quotes via original reporting)

On July 29, Nigeria’s National Executive Council (NEC) of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) rejected a 25 per cent increase in the basic salary of doctors and an accoutrement allowance, Vanguard reports.

NARD insisted that its earlier demand for full restoration of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to its 2009 value should stand.

In addition, the doctors reportedly insisted that there would be no going back on the ongoing nationwide and indefinite strike until the government made reasonable progress to address the demands contained in their ultimatum, issued to the federal government on July 5.

Declaring their position in a statement jointly signed by the President, Dr Orji Emeka Innocent, Secretary-General, Dr Chikezie Kelechi, and Publicity & Social Secretary, Dr Uma Musa, the striking doctors described the 25 per cent offer as ‘paltry’ and said that the strike continues.

The communique was issued at the end of its NEC meeting in Lagos and entitled “Bullying in Medical Practice: a matter of Perspective?”

The joint statement reportedly demanded the immediate release of a circular on the One-for-One policy for the replacement of departed clinical workers. It stated that NARD cannot continue to watch members lose their lives and break down under the weight of work caused by the massive ‘brain drain’ depletion of clinical staff in hospitals.

The doctors observed that the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF) has not been paid despite a number of promises made by the government.

The communique reads, “After critical consideration, NEC resolved as: to demand the payment of all salaries and arrears including the salary arrears of 2014-2016, arrears of hazard allowance, arrears of consequential adjustment of the minimum wage, and promotion arrears to our deserving members without further delay;

“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.”

In the communique, NARD reportedly appealed to Federal and state governments to urgently meet doctors’ demands and diffuse any further escalation of the ongoing industrial disharmony in the health sector nationwide.

Source: Vanguard

(Quotes via original reporting)