The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) gave the Federal a new two-week deadline on Wednesday to meet the requests of its members.
At the end of the Extraordinary National Executive Council (E-NEC) virtual meeting, NARD gave a last-chance offer.
This happened after NARD looked at how well the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed with the government on May 19, 2023, after the association went on a five-day warning strike on May 17, 2023.
After a long discussion about the above problems, NEC came to the following decisions:
"NEC wants the 2023 MRTF to be paid right away, just like it says in the approved 2023 budget, which is in line with the deals we’ve made with the government.
"NEC calls on the Government to pay all outstanding arrears owed to our members as soon as possible. This includes the hazard allowance and the skipping arrears of 2014-2016, as well as the arrears of consequential adjustment of minimum wage. There is no reason to keep owing these arrears and allowances, and the Government should pay them as soon as possible.
“We want the rules about replacing clinical staff one-for-one to be made public and put into place right away. This will help hospitals across the country deal with the huge shortage of staff.”
"NEC asks the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria to stop downgrading the membership certificate given out by the West African Postgraduate Medical and Surgical schools, because this is not done in other parts of West Africa where the same certificates are given out.
"NEC demands the immediate payment of all salary arrears, implementation of the CONMESS salary structure and new Hazard Allowance, domestication of the Medical Residency Training Act, and payment of the Medical Residency Training Fund to our members in all State Tertiary Health Institutions across the country.
"NEC wants to extend her deadline to the government, which has already run out, by two weeks, starting today, July 5, 2023.
"The NEC of NARD insists on the immediate implementation of a minimum 200% increase in the CONMESS salary structure and an upward review of the allowances that go with it, as she has asked for in her previous letters on the subject, because the country’s current economic situation doesn’t allow for CONMESS to be paid as it is now or for any increase less than the 200% that is demanded.
“To be clear, if all of these demands aren’t met by July 19, 2023, the new deadline, we won’t be able to guarantee industrial harmony in the Health Sector across the country.”