The federal government has faulted the ongoing strike by the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), describing it as unjustifiable and unwarranted.
Minister of Labour and Employment Dr Chris Nigige, who said this in Abuja Sunday, also condemned the 21- day ultimatum given by the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), saying it is in direct collision with the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed August 21, 2021.
A statement by the spokesman of the ministry, Charles Akpan, said the federal government was religiously implementing its own side of the agreement, with effective monitoring by the office of the Minister of Labour and Employment, adding that NMA is yet to move a needle on the roles assigned to it in the MOA.
He said: “First is that, the NMA communiqué in Benin which issued a 21-day ultimatum is at variance with the timeline in article II, Vii, Vii and X of the MOA.
“Importantly, article II on payment of the outstanding hazard allowance from the 2020 Medical Residency Training Fund states that the Fund will be paid after verification and reconciliation of figures from the BOF. Till now, both NARD/ Postgraduate Medical College are yet to submit the validated application for the eligible doctors missed out in 2020 to enable this payment.
“Article Vii on withdrawal of the circular from the Office of the Head of Service removing House and NYSC Doctors from the scheme of service says “The NMA should submit her position immediately to the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) for onward transmission to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation with a view to processing and issuance of clarification circular within two months.” The NMA is yet to comply with this.
“Similarly, the Technical committee set up in article Vii to tackle the backlog of arrears on GISMIS was given 4 weeks effective Monday, August 31, 2021 to round off its assignments. Is this not on collision with the 21-day ultimatum?
“Also, article X of the MOU also states that the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) should facilitate the withdrawal of suits by MEDSABAM against National Salaries Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC) and the Accountant General of the Federation to ensure the amicable resolution of the issues. The NMA is yet to do this, yet issuing a fresh ultimatum.
“It is therefore clear that the 21-day ultimatum will neither assist the NMA discharge the role assigned to it in the MOU nor facilitate the faithful implementation of the timeline which the federal government has given every attention.
“The truth is that NMA should play its role as the guardian of its affiliate associations instead of descending into the arena for needless fear of impeachment.
“It has by the communiqué issued in Benin, abdicated the main role assigned to it in the August 21 MOU,” the statement said.
The minister, however, assured the implementation of the MOU signed August 21 with doctors was on course, just as gave reasons the doctors refused to sign the last weekend’s MOU.
Ngige said: “All the issues contained in the MOU, ranging from arrears of the consequential adjustment of the National Minimum Wage, Skipping Allowance, Bench fees among others have successfully been tackled at the meeting of 20 and 21 August and all affiliates of the NMA, signed the MoU, with NARD dissenting.”
The minister, however, said the doctors wanted a particular clause to be inserted in the agreement.
“That section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act should not apply to them. That we should insert in a Government agreement that they should be paid for the period they are not at work. I’m being careful about this. This is law and I will not lend myself to illegality, to state in the agreement that a group of Nigerians are above the law. But as a matter of fact, a clause in that agreement states clearly that nobody should be punished for participating or not participating in the strike.
“So, what else do they want? They want me to put in writing that they are above the law. That “No work, no pay,” rule should not apply to them. That it is no more part of our law, despite the fact that I swore to uphold the constitution? This is notwithstanding that a clause in the agreement says that no one should be punished for any role in the strike. This is why they refused to sign the MOU and call off the strike and not that the government has not substantially met their demands,” he said.
Ngige also charged officials in the parent ministries of the striking doctors to sit up and effectively play their part in the ensuing melee.
He said: “Whether you are talking about ASUU, SSANU, NMA, JOHESU, etc., their employers are the Federal Ministries of Education and Health respectively. Those ministries should do their work with their employees. The employers of workers under these unions should take care of them. Here, I’m only a conciliator but the load is much because some people aren’t doing their beat.”
Board chairpersons call for truce
Meanwhile, the Forum of Chairmen of Health Institutions in Nigeria (FCHIN), a body of chairpersons of boards of parastatals and agencies under the nation’s health ministry, has charged the Nigerian government and the striking doctors to reach a truce on the ongoing strike in the interest of Nigerians.
Chairperson of the forum, Sam Jaja, who led the leadership to a meeting with the minister of labour and employment, said the forum chose a four-pronged approach to resolve the dispute.
The forum was quoted to have said this in a statement by spokesman of the ministry, Charles Akpan.
The statement quoted Jaja as frowning at the frequent resort to strike by doctors, describing it as “insensitive.”
It said: “All hope was that at last week’s meeting, where all affiliates of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) except NARD signed the MOU, would resolve the strike. We feel so concerned the strike hasn’t been called off.
“Strike should be the last resort when every other effort has been exhausted in terms of finding a solution to whatever the problem is. But for any little thing, you resort to disruption of services; it does not portray the country in good light. It doesn’t also portray the profession in good light, most especially such a profession that has to do with the preservation of human lives.
“It makes them (doctors) insensitive and that is not right. For whatever reason, I think we should nip it in the bud. That is what we as a Forum of Chairmen of Health Institutions of Nigeria are in for. We need to find a solution to this. It is not good for us and it is not good for them. I bet that as you are solving this problem, others are warming up to start theirs. We can’t allow them to continue. We must find a permanent solution.”
Fresh resolution plans
On the forum’s four-pronged approach to meet all concerned parties in a bid to resolve the lingering issues, Jaja was quoted as saying: “As the representatives of their employers, we can’t continue to fold our hands over this constant disruption of health services in the country. Our plan was to meet first with the NMA, NARD and the Ministry of Health before coming to you. Incidentally, you are the first to open your doors to us. So, we came to intimate you of our plans. We will return when we round off meetings with them.” (Premium Times)
