Resident Doctors in Nigeria on Thursday suspended their industrial action.
The doctors under the auspices of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) called the strike for government to meet their demands and pay their salary short fall among others.
The Association therefore directs its members nationwide to go back to work with effect from 8.00am on Friday.
National President of NARD, Dr. John Onyebueze who announced the suspension in a statement on Thursday said doctors decided to suspend the strike after considering efforts made by government in addressing their demands.
He, therefore, directed all doctors to go back to work with effect from 8.00am on Friday.
The one paragraph statement reads: “After due consideration of the efforts by Government and progress made in addressing the items on the notice of our ultimatum, and strike, as well as implementing the contents of the re-negotiated MTS, NARD resolved to suspend her 10 days strike, and to re access situation in two weeks at our AGM in Abuja.
Accordingly, members are to resume work 8:00am, Friday, 15th September, 2017.”
The government and the doctors had signed a memorandum of terms of settlement which the were supposed to have reviewed last Friday and suspend the strike after receiving alert for the payment of their salary shortfall.
Part of the resolution contained in the memorandum of terms of settlement which the doctors were to consider and call off the strike include the payment of the shortfall of salaries, capturing the Resident Doctors on the IPPIS payment platform, implementation of the Contributory Pension Scheme for the Resident Doctors and the issuing of circular on the issuance of a circularize to regularity the House Officers’ entry point.
The memorandum wants the “Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to employ checks and balances in disbursing Government funds. Accordingly, though verifications had been done by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA), there was still need to carry out authentications. Payment would therefore be made directly to the affected FTHI for Doctors and Staff that have been authenticated, and additionally, a soft copy would be forwarded to the Parent Ministry (FMoH), Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, CMDs, NARD and NMA;
“That the FTHIs on list A of the document submitted by NARD that have been authenticated by OAGF were expected to receive payments on or before Friday, September 8, 2017 as OAGF tendered a mandate containing 8 FTHI and pledged to forward an additional list of the remaining FTHI to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for necessary action between September 7 – 8, 2017;
“That the 2nd batch (list B) Mandate will be treated as soon as their AIE is sent to OAGF since NARD claimed that PICA had verified the shortfalls.
On the issue of failure by government “to rectify the salary shortfall from August 2017, the memorandum said the shortfalls were basically experienced by doctors not on the IPPIS platform termed “Non Regular Allowances/Payments”.
“The challenges on this issue were discussed extensively and it was noted that the OAGF was currently capturing the Paramilitary Staff on IPPIS Platform and would be ready to deal with members of NARD by first week of October precisely October 4, 2017.
“In this regard, it is expected that the 100% payment will be implemented as from October 2017, as September salaries were already at advanced stage of preparation. However, any shortfall that occurs will be treated together with that of August, 2017.”
It said further that “the role of the Cash Management Department and PICA in the payment of the Non Regular Allowances (Non IPPIS), and the determination to find a permanent solution to the issue of salary shortfalls was acknowledged.
“The meeting resolved that the Honourable Ministers of Labour and Employment, and Health together with the Budget Office of the Federation and one member each of NARD and NMA would discuss the matter with the Honourable Ministers of Finance (HMF), and Budget and Planning (HMBNP) as soon as Honourable Minister of Finance returns to the country.
“NARD was also assured that notwithstanding IPPIS coming into existence in October, 2017, the arrears accumulated in salary shortfalls on the Non Regular Platform, would be paid based on the old payment regime and liquidated.
On the House Officers’ Entry Point, the memorandum said the “end of October, 2017, was given as deadline to entirely solve the monetary problem of House Officers entry step by capturing it in the 2018 budget.
“The NSIWC promised to forward a memo to the Presidency following the receipt of a letter of demand from the FMoH and would issue the relevant circular immediately a favourable response is received by the NSIWC from the Presidency.”
On the issue of failure by government to correct the stagnation of promotion, the memorandum conclude that while the Appeal filed by the FMoH in the Appeal Court against the Judgment of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) on skipping is pending; skipping for doctors should continue as currently applied for other health workers.
It also said that “Hospitals that are yet to implement skipping for doctors are to commence. Also, there should be no “same scale” promotion except at the terminal grade level and in accordance with the Public Service Rules. Payment for skipping shall stop if the Appeal Court invalidates the payments.
“The meeting concluded that NARD members should be on the IPPIS platform and that the CMDs as well as the MDs should be requested by the FMoH to submit their Nominal Roll to the Office of the Accountant General of The Federation (OAGF) and copy to the FMoH and FML&E on or before September 15, 2017. It was agreed that all Resident Doctors should be captured on IPPIS platform by the end of October 2017. OAGF confirmed the receipt of submissions from additional 9 FTHIs as at September 6, 2017..”
On the issue of government failure to budget, deduct and remit both the employer and employees’ contributions of our pension Since 2013, the memorandum said:
“The meeting admitted and considered a letter by the Federal Ministry of Finance Ref. No. OHMF/SPO/NARD/289/VOL.1 dated June 8, 2017 on the subject “Re-Stoppage of Budgetary Provision And Deduction at Source For the Contributory Pension Scheme For Resident Doctors” which reaffirmed the earlier position taken that Resident Doctors are entitled to the Contributory Pension Scheme.
“After due discussions, item vi of the Memorandum of Terms of Settlement of August 31, 2017 was re-affirmed and adopted for implementation. The item vi states that “…NARD members are on Pensionable appointment and as such, the FMoH in conjunction with OAGF and Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) should take necessary steps to ensure that adequate budgetary allocations are made to cover the Pension requirements of NARD members.
“Furthermore, FMoH should issue a letter in that regard to the Head Civil Service of the Federation who would correspond with the Budget Office of the Federation for necessary action, as the National Pension Commission (PENCOM) had in a letter of February 12, 2015, Ref.PENCOM/INSP/C&E/CCPA/66/15/1167 to the Honourable Minister of Health affirmed that members of NARD are “Employees”.
“The letter went further to define an employee as any person employed in the service of the Federation, the FCT, a Government of a State of Nigeria, Local Government Council or private company or organization or firm.
“The Federal Government will appeal to State Governments and Organisations that owe salary shortfalls/emoluments to Health Workers to make genuine efforts to liquidate these arrears in the spirit of revamping the Health Care System in the country.
