Doctors warn of impending strike action over FG’s failure to meet demands

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has warned of an impending strike over the federal government’s failure to meet its demands.

On July 2, the association issued a 21-day ultimatum to the federal government in protest of a circular from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission on revised allowances for medical and dental officers in the federal public service.

The doctors said they opposed the circular because it violated prior agreements and asked the federal government to withdraw it to avert industrial action.

The NMA’s ultimatum expires on Wednesday.

Speaking on Sunday during an interview on Channels Television, Bala Audu, NMA president, said the association noticed that the revisions by the salaries and incomes commission did not apply certain collective bargaining agreements of 2001, 2009 and 2014 on the allowances.

“These allowances are a product of a percentage of the basic salary. However, this was not applied,” he said.

Audu said the NMA wrote to the commission through the ministry of health asking for a correction.

“We kept playing advocacy, going from pillar to post to ensure that these issues are addressed,” he said.

“However, by the first of this month, a circular was issued by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.

“This circular was issued unilaterally, and it completely ignored the observations that were raised. It even refused to involve the ministry of health in developing this circular.

“There were no inputs or dialogues with us who presented the complaints to them, so that if there were any issues to negotiate, we could have mutually negotiated them.”

Audu said the circular also reduced some of the allowances of senior consultants leaving the country.

The NMA president said while the association has not received a direct invitation for dialogue from the health ministry, it has had a direct engagement with the minister of state for health.

“The engagement was mutually respectful, beneficial, and it points to a direction that we are likely to have solutions before the end of the ultimatum,” he said.

“Our simple demand is that the circular from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission should be withdrawn so that all stakeholders can come to the negotiating table and discuss.

“Our second demand is to ensure all the arrears accrued over the last 18 months are settled immediately. That is also not far-fetched because President Bola Tinubu has approved the payment of those allowances.

“We wonder who along the line is refusing to implement. Part of the demand is to set up a collective bargaining agreement process, which has been due for review for over the last 10 years. All these are processes that are very easy to comply with.

“We risk the whole healthcare system of this country being shut down, which the Nigerian Medical Association does not in any way want to see happen. That won’t happen as long as the government is responsive.”