Review salary structure or risk industrial action, doctors threaten Nigerian govt

Medical doctors in the country may down tools in the new year as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has given the Federal Government till January 31, 2024, to meet its demands for a review of the consolidated medical salary strcture or risk industrial action in the health sector.

The President of the NMA, Uche Ojinmah issued the ultimatum at a press briefing after the association’s National Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Sunday

While asking the government to implement the upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure, Ojinmah said that the association cannot guarantee industrial harmony after the ultimatum if the government fails to meet its demands.

The NMA president also urged the government to implement the newly approved accruement allowance with arrears from June 2022, adding that the association does not have a direction about when all the allowances would be implemented despite its approval on June 1, 2023.

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Ripples Nigeria recalls that on July 28, the federal government approved the payment of N25,000 peculiar allowance for medical doctors and dentists in hospitals, medical centres, and clinics in the federal public service.

Ojinmah, however, said that while the association was grateful that the government had taken a step regarding one of its agreements, it awaited the full implementation of the agreements they had.

“For now, while we are grateful, they have started doing the right thing, we look forward to their doing it completely, agreement should be agreement as we had with the last administration. It was meant to take effect from January 2023.

“The agreement is that every increment is for salary and allowances but what we have seen is salary. So, we are waiting for allowances, by next week, we will put out our position,” Ojinmah added.

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