Striking Doctors Reject New MoU Proposed By FG

The leadership of the National Association Resident Doctors
(NARD) has rejected the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) proposed
by the federal government to address the issues that led to their
ongoing strike.

Speaking after a meeting with the federal government’s team held
at the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja, the National
President of NARD, Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi said that the
association refused to sign the MoU and has decided to proceed with
the case at the Industrial Court.

“We rejected the MoU. We did not sign it because we are being
punished for the failures of the government,” he said.

The meeting with the FG team which started on Friday got
adjourned to yesterday but failed to persuade the striking doctors
to return to work.

When pressed further for the reasons for their action,
Okhuaihesuyi said he wouldn’t like to say more because their case
was pending at the court.

The federal government yesterday proposed a new MoU with the
NARD on the implementation of the demands by the striking resident
doctors.

While briefing journalists in Abuja yesterday on the outcome of
the engagement with the leadership of the Nigeria Medical
Association (NMA), NARD, and other affiliate associations, the
Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said the
MoU addressed the several complaints by the doctors including;
non-payment of the salaries of some house officers on the IPPIS
platform, non-payment of medical residency training fund (MRTF)
outstanding for 2020 and the current 2021 allocation and
non-payment of salaries of some house officers on IPPIS.

He said other issues dealt with under the MoU were the payment
of arrears of consequential adjustment on National Minimum Wage and
abolition of bench fees, delay in the review of hazard
allowances.

Other issues addressed are the non-payment of skipping allowance
for 2014, 2015, 2016; withdrawal of a circular from the Office of
Head of Service; removal of house officers and NYSC doctors from
the scheme of service; non-payment of salaries of doctors and
residents on GFMIS and the issue of their migration to IPPIS and
non-payment of outstanding COVID-19 allowance for 2020 for some
medical doctors in government clinics and hospitals.

Following the new deal, Ngige said: “The government side has
given undertaken that it will be processed in one week. And
therefore, the meeting agreed that by next Friday, August 27,
residents in institutions would have started getting their
money”.

He said the amount to be paid is about N542, 000 per person.

On the issue of house officers, the Registrar of the Medical and
Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) had explained that as of
yesterday, he had about 2,800 house officers on his platform
because of the new house officers training scheme.

Ngige explained that MDCN now handles the placement of House
Officers and managing them in terms of their remuneration for the
one-year internship programme.

He stated that the 114 House Officers which NMA and NARD cited
were suspected to be those who had not done their revalidation for
the month, adding that the system requires that by the 15th of
every month, the doctors must revalidate their stay in the
housemanship training programme.

According to him, NARD is expected now to submit the list of
those 114 officers for further verification, adding that after
further verification and they are genuine house officers, and their
IPPIS particulars and BVN are in order, they will be paid in
September with the outstanding arrears.

On the dispute over the residency training fund that was
outstanding for 2020 and 2021, Ngige said the agreement was also
reached after the Budget Office had explained that in 2020, the
outstanding to be paid was N617, 429, 121.

He said reconciliation is to be done on it because the 2020
payment had some errors.

“Some people who are not supposed to benefit from the fund got
money and because of that, the number of genuine people that were
not paid also came to the quantum of persons. So, some
reconciliation is being done”.

He added that some monies were being returned because the people
themselves have agreed to do so.

“So, we have given a timeline for this reconciliation to be
done. And for 2021, the money approved by Government is N4.802
billion. This money like I said earlier was contained in the
supplementary 2021 budget, which the President signed on the eve of
his departure for the meeting in the UK. So, between that time and
now, it became a money law. The funds have now been sourced and it
has gotten from the CBN to the Budget Office and from the Budget
Office, we expect it to be processed,” he said.

Regarding the issue of abolition of bench fees, Ngige said there
was evidence to show that it was only in one teaching hospital
where the fee was being charged.

He, however, said that a circular has been issued about a month
ago to all Teaching Hospitals on the matter, adding, “that if there
is anybody who paid it since the issuance of the circular, he
should make a claim for refund and get it immediately”.

The minister said that the discussion on hazard allowance was
still ongoing and that the federal government wants to firm it
up.

He said the government had agreed to hold separate meetings with
the two major unions in the health sector on the issue of hazard
allowance due to the peculiarities of their job.

The leadership of the National Association Resident Doctors
(NARD) has rejected the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) proposed
by the federal government to address the issues that led to their
ongoing strike.

Speaking after a meeting with the federal government’s team held
at the Ministry of Labour and Employment in Abuja, the National
President of NARD, Dr. Uyilawa Okhuaihesuyi said that the
association refused to sign the MoU and has decided to proceed with
the case at the Industrial Court.

“We rejected the MoU. We did not sign it because we are being
punished for the failures of the government,” he said.

The meeting with the FG team which started on Friday got
adjourned to yesterday but failed to persuade the striking doctors
to return to work.

When pressed further for the reasons for their action,
Okhuaihesuyi said he wouldn’t like to say more because their case
was pending at the court.

The federal government yesterday proposed a new MoU with the
NARD on the implementation of the demands by the striking resident
doctors.

While briefing journalists in Abuja yesterday on the outcome of
the engagement with the leadership of the Nigeria Medical
Association (NMA), NARD, and other affiliate associations, the
Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said the
MoU addressed the several complaints by the doctors including;
non-payment of the salaries of some house officers on the IPPIS
platform, non-payment of medical residency training fund (MRTF)
outstanding for 2020 and the current 2021 allocation and
non-payment of salaries of some house officers on IPPIS.

He said other issues dealt with under the MoU were the payment
of arrears of consequential adjustment on National Minimum Wage and
abolition of bench fees, delay in the review of hazard
allowances.

Other issues addressed are the non-payment of skipping allowance
for 2014, 2015, 2016; withdrawal of a circular from the Office of
Head of Service; removal of house officers and NYSC doctors from
the scheme of service; non-payment of salaries of doctors and
residents on GFMIS and the issue of their migration to IPPIS and
non-payment of outstanding COVID-19 allowance for 2020 for some
medical doctors in government clinics and hospitals.

Following the new deal, Ngige said: “The government side has
given undertaken that it will be processed in one week. And
therefore, the meeting agreed that by next Friday, August 27,
residents in institutions would have started getting their
money”.

He said the amount to be paid is about N542, 000 per person.

On the issue of house officers, the Registrar of the Medical and
Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) had explained that as of
yesterday, he had about 2,800 house officers on his platform
because of the new house officers training scheme.

Ngige explained that MDCN now handles the placement of House
Officers and managing them in terms of their remuneration for the
one-year internship programme.

He stated that the 114 House Officers which NMA and NARD cited
were suspected to be those who had not done their revalidation for
the month, adding that the system requires that by the 15th of
every month, the doctors must revalidate their stay in the
housemanship training programme.

According to him, NARD is expected now to submit the list of
those 114 officers for further verification, adding that after
further verification and they are genuine house officers, and their
IPPIS particulars and BVN are in order, they will be paid in
September with the outstanding arrears.

On the dispute over the residency training fund that was
outstanding for 2020 and 2021, Ngige said the agreement was also
reached after the Budget Office had explained that in 2020, the
outstanding to be paid was N617, 429, 121.

He said reconciliation is to be done on it because the 2020
payment had some errors.

“Some people who are not supposed to benefit from the fund got
money and because of that, the number of genuine people that were
not paid also came to the quantum of persons. So, some
reconciliation is being done”.

He added that some monies were being returned because the people
themselves have agreed to do so.

“So, we have given a timeline for this reconciliation to be
done. And for 2021, the money approved by Government is N4.802
billion. This money like I said earlier was contained in the
supplementary 2021 budget, which the President signed on the eve of
his departure for the meeting in the UK. So, between that time and
now, it became a money law. The funds have now been sourced and it
has gotten from the CBN to the Budget Office and from the Budget
Office, we expect it to be processed,” he said.

Regarding the issue of abolition of bench fees, Ngige said there
was evidence to show that it was only in one teaching hospital
where the fee was being charged.

He, however, said that a circular has been issued about a month
ago to all Teaching Hospitals on the matter, adding, “that if there
is anybody who paid it since the issuance of the circular, he
should make a claim for refund and get it immediately”.

The minister said that the discussion on hazard allowance was
still ongoing and that the federal government wants to firm it
up.

He said the government had agreed to hold separate meetings with
the two major unions in the health sector on the issue of hazard
allowance due to the peculiarities of their job.