The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has rejected the Federal Government’s 25% increase in the basic salary of doctors, as well as the N25,000 accouterment allowance per quarter.
The rejection comes in the wake of the association’s national indefinite strike which it started at noon on July 26, saying the government had failed to meet its demands.
NARD’s National Executive Council (NEC), according to a statement by the Association’s President, Dr. Emeka Orji, said: “We observed the paltry 25 per cent increment in the basic salary of doctors as contained in the circular released by the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) in the wake of the strike, as well as the accouterment allowance.
“NEC vehemently rejects the paltry 25 per cent increment in the basic salary of doctors, as well as the accouterment allowance, adding that her earlier demand is for full restoration of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure to its right value as at the time of the approval of the structure in 2009.”
The current salary structure was approved in 2009 and implemented in 2014. Hence, the resident doctors are demanding a restoration to the value of the salary as at 2014, saying inflation, exchange rate increment and fuel price had eroded the value.
The Nation had earlier reported Dr. Orji as saying, “Initially, before the removal of the subsidy, we demanded a 200% salary increase. With the removal of subsidy and the fuel price, we have done the math again, which will be in the neighbourhood of more than 600% as the increment required to take us back to the value of that salary in 2014.
“Right now, we are not talking of percentage again; let the government do the calculation and tell us what we are getting because what we are asking is full salary restoration, and not even an increment. This will help us tackle the brain drain in the country.”
Other demands of the doctors include immediate payment of the 2023 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF); issuance of a circular by the Federal Ministry of Health for replacement of doctors and nurses that have left the system with new ones; payment of salary arrears, improvement in hazard allowance by state governments; a call on the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to reverse herself on the downgrading of the membership certificate.
Others are rejection of the casualization of doctors in all tertiary health institutions in Nigeria; and the immediate unconditional release of one of its trainers, Prof. Ekanem Philip-Ephraim of UCTH Calabar, and the need for the government to beef up security in the country to forestall such occurrences.