A potential industrial strike looms over Ondo State as the Nigerian Medical Association’s local chapter threatens action if the state government does not fulfill its pledge to revise the hazard allowance for medical professionals.
The NMA expressed disappointment at the extended duration during which doctors working in state-owned hospitals have been granted just N5,000 as hazard allowance, despite the state government’s approval for an upward adjustment that has not been put into effect.
Addressing the NMA 2023 Physicians’ Week on Monday in Akure, the state capital, Dr. Omosehin Adeyemi-Osowe, the chairman of the Ondo NMA, highlighted that the state government had committed to disbursing the funds during this week, warning that a failure to do so could result in a renewed industrial action.
He warned that the group’s members might opt for a strike if the implementation of the revised allowance is not delivered before this week’s Friday.
He said, ‘We have many challenges in Ondo NMA, one of them is that we lack personnel. Recently we heard in the news that over 1000 health workers would be employed by the state government. We are still waiting for the recruitment exercise to commence. Another challenge is our allowances, we have had a review recently, and before that review, the hazard allowance has been reviewed upward, before the review of that hazard allowance what we receive as doctors is N5,000.’
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‘This has been reviewed by the Federal Government but up till this moment, Ondo State has not implemented it, but we know that it has been approved, we were promised that there would be implementation in Ondo State, but up till this moment we are yet to perceive the implementation. As of last Friday, the government through the Permanent Secretary on establishment promised that on or before the end of tomorrow (Wednesday) a circular would be out, we are waiting.’
The state NMA, acknowledging the prevalence of the ‘japa’ syndrome in the health sector, emphasized the need for the government to enhance the welfare of the remaining health workers in the state.
‘In Ondo State today, doctors, pharmacists and others are leaving the country for advanced country, we cannot stop them, they have the human right to migrate, but what are those things making them migrate, these are the things we have discussed with the government, we need competitive allowances and salaries as compared to other countries even if we come locally, as compared to other states, these we are not getting, but we believe it would come,
‘I want to tell the government that at the end of this week, and we do not have that circular, well, it would not be bad for Ondo State Nigeria Medical Association of doctors to go on strike at the end of this week if we do not have the circular for the implementation of the hazard allowance in Ondo State, the federal workers have been enjoying this since last year, from December 2021, the Federal Government has cleared all the federal workers allowance, they have paid their workers up till today,’ he noted.
Similarly, the National President of the NMA, Dr. Uche Ojinmah, whose speech was conveyed by Adeyemi-Osowe, cautioned against undermining doctors in Nigeria.
Ojinmah said, ‘We use this medium to humbly sound a note of warning to all and sundry to never try to run Nigerian doctors down in any way but to always follow due process if aggrieved or in discharging their responsibilities. If anyone has any case against a doctor practising in Nigeria, it should channel such to the Registrar of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria for appropriate response being the body statutorily saddled with such responsibility.’
‘The NMA hereby express her displeasure at the recent media trial of some healthcare workers by the Minister of Women Affairs. We believe that such behaviour is infra dig for one that occupies such a lofty office.’