MDCAN made this known in a communique issued on Tuesday at
the end of its extraordinary National Executive Council meeting which was held
virtually.
The communique was signed by its President, Dr Victor
Makanjuola, and Secretary-General, Dr Yemi Raji.
The NEC said it was dismayed by the non-implementation of
the jointly agreed upward review of CONMESS and the introduction of
Accoutrement allowance with the Nigerian Medical Association, as the released
circular only captured the percentage increase on the basic salary, as against
applying it to both the basic salaries and all allowances except hazard
allowance.
The communique read,
“This error has resulted in the complete exclusion of the clinical lecturers
(Honorary Consultants) from benefitting from the upward review. The
commencement date for the new circular was agreed to be January 1, 2023, rather
than June 1, 2023.
“We believe this error will be corrected without delay. The
recent upward review of CONMESS did not take into consideration the
consequences of the fuel subsidy removal and exponential inflation that has
pervaded our socio-economic space in the past three months.
“Despite our association’s decision to keep faith with the
engagement and negotiations with the National Salaries Incomes and Wages
Commission for more than two years regarding the correction of the shortfalls
in remuneration for Clinical Lecturers (Honorary Consultants), the issue is yet
to be conclusively addressed by the Federal Government,” it noted.
The council said it observed the non-universal
implementation of CONMESS for all medical and dental doctors irrespective of
the agencies of the government they are working with.
The council decried the failure of the government to
appreciate the magnitude of the impacts of brain drain in the health sector, as
exhibited by the refusal of the National Council on Establishment to approve
the Federal Ministry of Health’s proposal on the upward review of the age of
retirement for the Medical and Dental Consultants and other health workers.
The council said the government has failed to resolve the
ongoing disputes with the National Association of Residents Doctors and its
attendant impacts on access to health care by Nigerians, and the kidnapping of
doctors in the country.
The consultants are, however, demanding the immediate review
of the newly revised CONMESS circular and issuance of a new circular that would
reflect the agreed percentage on both the Basic Salary and other allowances,
apart from hazard allowance.
According to them, the review will ensure that the clinical
lecturers would benefit from the upward review.
Other demands include, “A call for the correction of the
error of commencement of the implementation of the upward review of CONMESS
from June 1, 2023, to January 1, 2023.
“The upward review of the CONMESS should take into
consideration the impacts of the fuel subsidy removal and the high inflationary
trend that is currently being experienced. A demand for the immediate
implementation and circularisation of the agreed modalities for correcting the
shortfalls in remunerations of Clinical Lecturers (Honorary Consultants). An
appeal for the universal applicability of CONMESS to all medical and dental
doctors, particularly those in public universities.
“The attention of the government is once again called to the
impact of brain drain in the health sector, which is contributing to burnout
among our members and inadequate healthcare workforce to cater to the health of
Nigerians. We, therefore, demand the immediate implementation of the upward
review of age retirement to 70 years for Consultants and 65 years for other
Health workers, as an immediate measure to bridge the ongoing massive brain
drain.
“We appeal to the government to as a matter of urgency
resolve all the contending issues with NARD, to ensure that the government
hospitals return to normal operation for optimal healthcare delivery
immediately. We call on the government at all levels, as well as the security
agencies to do all within their powers, to ensure the safety of our members and
other Nigerians while effecting the immediate and safe release of those
currently held captive by kidnappers.
“The NEC hopes that all these issues will be satisfactorily
resolved within the next 21 days, failing which it can no longer guarantee the
present relative industrial harmony within the government hospitals and our
medical schools”, it said.