The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has set a 21-day ultimatum for the federal government to implement the revised Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and other associated requests.
Following its National Executive Council meeting, MDCAN issued a communique on Monday expressing its concern that the present state of industrial harmony within public hospitals and medical schools may be compromised if the issues are not addressed satisfactorily.
In the communique, signed by MDCAN President Victor Makanjuola and Secretary-General Yemi Raji, the association said it observed with dismay, the non-implementation of the jointly agreed upward review of CONMESS and the introduction of accoutrement allowance with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
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MDCAN pointed out an error in the released circular that only accounted for a percentage increase in basic salary, neglecting to apply it to all allowances except hazard allowance.
“This error has resulted in the complete exclusion of the clinical lecturers (Honorary Consultants) from benefitting from the upward review,” it said.
MDCAN said the commencement date for the new circular was agreed to be the 1st of January 2023 rather than the 1st of June 2023.
The association said the recent upward review of CONMESS did not take into consideration the consequences of the fuel subsidy removal and exponential inflation that has pervaded the socioeconomic space in the past three months.
The communique read in part, “Despite our association’s decision to keep faith with the engagement and negotiations with the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) 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.”
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The medical and dental consultants demanded the immediate review of the newly revised CONMESS circular and the issuance of a ¥ new circular that would reflect the agreed percentage on both the basic salary and other allowances, apart from hazard allowance.
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They said this would ensure that the clinical lecturers (Honorary Consultants) would benefit from the upward review.
“A call for the correction of the error of commencement of the implementation of the upward review of CONMESS from 1st June 2023 to 1st January 2023,” they said.
While demanding that the upward review of the CONMESS should take into consideration the impacts of the fuel subsidy removal and the high inflationary trend currently being experienced, they appealed for the universal applicability of CONMESS to all medical and dental doctors, particularly those in public universities.
MDCAN also demanded 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.
They urged the government to swiftly address issues with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) and ensure the safety of MDCAN members and fellow Nigerians.
The association also called for the prompt and secure release of individuals 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,” the association added.
