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NMA threatens to join doctors’ strike if…

NMA

*Issues 21-day ultimatum for implementation of agreements with affiliate members

*Cautions against victimisation of striking resident doctors

*Threat in collision with MOU signed by Medical body – Labour minister

*As FG sets aside N4.8bn for doctors’ training fund

Doosuur Iwambe and Ukpono Ukpong, Abuja

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has vowed to join the ongoing strike by Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) if the Federal Government fails to fully implement the agreements signed with affiliate members of the Nigerian Medical Association at the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum.

This was part of the resolutions reached at the just concluded NMA National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Benin City, Edo State.

As contained in a statement titled, ‘Nigerian Medical Association Affiliates Industrial Disputes with Federal Government,’ signed by the NMA President, Prof. Innocent Ujah, and Secretary General, Dr. Philips Ekpe, the Association said: “After due consideration NEC has put the Federal Government on a 21-day notice to fully resolve all the issues contained in the various agreements signed with Affiliate members of the Nigerian Medical Association, including MDCAN, MEDSABAMS and NARD.

“NEC affirms that no doctor shall be victimised for participating/not participating in the strike action by NARD.

“In the event that the Federal Government fails to implement the agreements after the expiration of the 21- day notice, NMA shall summon an emergency delegate meeting to review the progress made on the implementation of the agreements.”

The 21-day ultimatum is coming amidst ongoing strike action by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD). There are now concerns that another industrial action by NMA will cripple activities in government-owned hospitals across the country.

In a swift reaction, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, said that the threat by NMA is in direct collision with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed on August 21, by the Association.

As contained in a statement signed by Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, Charles Akpan, the minister said that Federal Government is religiously implementing its own side of the agreement, backed with effective monitoring by his office.

However, he said that NMA lacks the moral grounds to issue such threats considering that it is yet to move a needle on the roles assigned to it in the MOU.

The statement reads in part: “The NMA communique in Benin which issued a 21-day ultimatum is at variance with the timeline in article II, Vii, Vii and X of the MOA.

“Importantly, article II on payment of the outstanding hazard allowance from the 2020 Medical Residency Training Fund states that the Fund will be paid after verification and reconciliation of figures from the BOF. Till now, both NARD/ Postgraduate Medical College are yet to submit the validated application for the eligible doctors missed out in 2020 to enable this payment.

“Article Vii on withdrawal of the circular from the Office of the Head of Service removing House and NYSC Doctors from the scheme of service says: “The NMA should submit her position immediately to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) for onward transmission to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation with a view to processing and issuance of clarification circular within two months.” The NMA is yet to comply with this.

“Similarly, the Technical committee set up in article Vii to tackle the backlog of arrears on GISMIS was given 4 weeks effective Monday, August 31, 2021 to round off its assignments. Is this not on collision with the 21-day ultimatum?

“Also, article X of the MOU also states that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) should facilitate the withdrawal of suits by MEDSABAM against National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) and the Accountant General of the Federation to ensure the amicable resolution of the issues. The NMA is yet to do this, yet issuing a fresh ultimatum.

“It is therefore clear that the 21-day ultimatum will neither assist the NMA discharge the role assigned to it in the MOU nor facilitate the faithful implementation of the timeline which the federal government has given every attention.

“The truth is that NMA should play its role as the guardian of its affiliate associations instead of descending into the arena for needless fear of impeachment.

“It has by the communique issued in Benin, abdicated the main role assigned to it in the August 21 MOU.”

Earlier, Ngige had announced that Federal Government has set aside the sum of N4.8 billion as a residency training fund for the striking resident doctors in the country.

He said government has adopted a holistic approach to tackling the challenges in the health sector, noting that some of the issues in contention cut across sectors.

The minister revealed that government has also bent backwards to improve the ease of practice of medicine in the country despite dwindling resources.

“The resident doctors are on the scheme of service against which wasn’t obtained earlier. There was nothing like that we started practice. Nigeria is also about the only country that has the Medical Residency Training Fund, backed up by an act, Medical Residency Training Act, passed into law by this administration in 2018.

“N4.8 billion is already in 2021 Service Wide Vote for this – to cover exam fees, books, travel to exam centres and accommodation. We are battling to meet up the timeline on this.

“As a matter of fact, the Residency Training Fund for 2021 is a borrowed fund. It is part of the deficit budget funded by the World Bank and IMF.

“Now that the President has signed the law governing it, with signatures appended, we can access this fund through the CBN and from there to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget Office and to the Accountant General of the Federation. But it is not what you achieve in a day. It takes time but these young doctors will hear none of that,” the minister stated.

Ngige said all the issues contained in the MOU, ranging from arrears of the consequential adjustment of the National Minimum Wage, Skipping Allowance, Bench fees among others have successfully been tackled at the meeting of 20 and 21 August and all affiliates of the NMA, signed the MOA, with NARD dissenting.

NARD wants a particular clause to be inserted in the agreement.

“That section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act should not apply to them. That we should insert in a Government agreement that they should be paid for the period they are not at work. I’m being careful about this.
This is law and I will not lend myself to illegality, to state in the agreement that a group of Nigerians are above the law. But as a matter of fact, a clause in that agreement states clearly that nobody should be punished for participating or not participating in the strike.

“So, what else do they want? They want me to put in writing that they are above the law. That No work, No pay should not apply to them. That No work, No pay is no more part of our law, despite the fact that I swore to uphold the constitution?

This is notwithstanding that a clause in the agreement says that no one should be punished for any role in the strike. This is why they refused to sign the MOU and call off the strike and not that government has not substantially meet their demands,” Ngige said.

The Minister further urged the officials in the parent ministries of the unions in perennial strikes to sit up and effectively play their roles.

The Daily Times recalls that the Federal Government had on August 26, 2021 issued a memo threatening to invoke ‘no work, no pay’ policy on NARD.

The memo will also affect any health worker in the tertiary hospital proceeding on strike, the government said.

The Director of Department of Hospital Services, Adebimpe Adebiyi, signed the memo with reference number C. 5194/T/407 and addressed it to all chief medical directors and medical directors of tertiary hospitals.

The NARD resumed the strike it suspended in April on August 2, following the failure of the Federal Government to meet its demands.

It is also aggrieved with state governments of Ondo, Ekiti, Imo and Abia, which owe its members for months.

The Federal Government had a meeting with the doctors on Friday, August 20, to amicably resolve the crisis. However, the doctors refused to sign a Memorandum of Understanding developed during the meeting with the government.

In a further attempt to get the doctors back to work, the Federal Government approached the National Industrial Court to order the doctors back to work.

The court, on Monday, August 23, directed the doctors to return to work to allow the government to continue to seek means of meeting their demands.

However, the doctors said the government must meet their demands before they could return to work.

Some of the doctors’ demands include reversal by the government, the circular from the head of service of the federation which removed house officers from the scheme of service; increase in hazard allowance for doctors beyond N5,000; payment of doctors who are being owed by state and federal governments; and payment of the National Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustment to some of the doctors by the government.

Others are the domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act of 2017 by state governments; recruitment of more doctors by the government to reduce workload in hospitals, and payment of COVID-19 inducement allowance to all the doctors working in federal and state health facilities.

The NMA, the parent association for NARD, and the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), have been responsible for skeletal services rendered by public health institutions in the country since NARD embarked on strike on August 2 over unmet demands by the government.

The NARD members are more than any other doctors’ group in the country.

The association comprises medical graduates who undergo housemanship programme and those training for graduate medical education (GME) programme while working in hospitals.

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Ihesiulo Grace

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