Connect with us

News

Shock as resident doctors begin strike over salaries

Published

7 years ago

on

The Federal Government last night expressed “deep shock and utter disappointment as Resident Doctors began yesterday an indefinite strike to press home their demand for better pay.

The action is coming three days after their leadership signed a memorandum of terms of settlement with the government.

Ministry of Labour and Employment spokesman Samuel Olowookere, in a statement, said the Federal Government was disapointed over the sudden u-turn by the leadership of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD ) after it had reached a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the Federal Ministry of Health on its six-point demand.

He added: “Minister of Labour and Employment Senator Chris Ngige, “in exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Trade Dispute Act 2004, has apprehended the ongoing strike by NARD. Consequently, the meeting between NARD and the government earlier scheduled for November 2 is now slated for Wednesday, September 6, 2017 (tomorrow) by noon at the Conference Room of the Minister of Labour and Employment. ”

“All stakeholders are implored to attend this crucial meeting. The health and well-being of Nigerians are cardinal to President Buhari’s administration. Hence, every measure necessary shall be taken to restore normalcy”.

Rising from their National Executive Council meeting in Abuja, the doctors said they were rejecting the terms of settlement, which would have seen the strike being suspended.

But the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) warned doctors on internship not to join the strike.

They risk repeating their programme, if they do, it said.

In a notice of strike sent to chief medical directors and medical directors of hospitals and signed by the President and Secretary General, Dr. Onyebueze John and Dr. Aneke Emmanuel, the resident doctors said they rejected the terms, but did not give any reason for doing so.

The letter reads: “The National Association of Resident Doctors of Nigeria, rising from her extraordinary National Executive Council (NEC) meeting which held on Sunday, 3rd September 2017 at Parkview Hotels, Abuja, rejected the Memorandum of terms of settlement from government on the items of her demand for strike and resolved to proceed on the proposed national, total and indefinite strike with effect from 8am Monday, 4th September 2017.”

A message from the President of the Resident Doctors also reads: “Rising from our NEC meeting which started by 7pm yesterday (Sunday) and ended 3am today (Monday), NARD resolved to reject the promissory offer from government and proceed on total and indefinite strike until all items in her demand list are resolved by government.”

ALSO READ  Ibadan Chief Imam defies NSCIA, MUSWEN, Sultan’s order, celebrates Eid-Fitri

The doctors are contesting what they described as the government’s failure to:

pay our salary shortfall of 2016 and January to May 2017;
rectify the salary shortfall from August 2017;
circularize House Officers’ entry point;
correct the stagnation of promotion of our members and properly place them on their appropriate grade level;
enroll and capture our members on the Integrated Personnel Payment Information System (IPPIS) and
budget, deduct and remit both the employer’s and employees’ pension contributions to our retirement savings account since 2013.

After a meeting between the government’s representatives and officials of the doctors’ association and the Nigeria Medical Association on Thursday, both parties signed a memorandum of terms of agreement, pointing out that some of the issues being complained about by the association were already being addressed by the government.

The memorandum was signed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Minister of Health Prof. Isaac Adewole. Minister of State, Labour and Employment, Prof. Stephen Ocheni, National President of the Nigeria Medical Association (NMA) Prof. Mike O. Ogirima, National Association of Resident Doctors President Onyebueze John and of the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission Chairman Richard Egbule.

Other signatories are representatives of Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Budget Office of the Federation.

The memorandum reads: “The meeting noted that some Federal Tertiary Health Institutions (FHTI) have paid a percentage of salaries to Resident Doctors and are consequently in arrears of salary payments to members of NARD and Honorary Consultants.

“It was also noted that the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) had started the process of paying the shortfall of salaries owed in batches. It was therefore concluded that the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) should forward the list of the recipient FHTI to the Honourable Minister of Health to ensure that the released fund was used for its intended purpose. The payment for other FHTI not captured to be implemented before the end of October 2017.”

On shortfall in salaries, it was agreed that “the Director Hospital Services is to address a circular/letter to the Chief Medical Directors (CMDs) and state therein that the released funds should be used solely for salaries and shortfalls. The Federal Ministry of Finance should ensure that monthly salaries are paid in full.

ALSO READ  Aircraft carrying 143 passengers crash-lands in Abuja 

“Reference was made to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached at the 7th Senate in 2014, and House of Representatives with the Speaker presiding in 2016, where parties agreed to use the quantum of monies contained in CONHESS 9:4 for CONMESS 1:1.

“It was concluded that effect should be given to previous Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) reached on this issue so that CONHESS 9:4 would be in parity with CONMESS 1:1. The Chairman NSIWC to get this circularised, after getting the quantum from FMoH. All matters on this issue should be finalised before the preparation of 2018 Budget is concluded.

“Issues of skipping and matters ancillary thereto were discussed. The meeting noted that the Federal Ministry of Health had appealed against the ruling of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) on skipping and that a date has been given by the Court of Appeal for hearing in March, 2018.

“It was further noted that a major issue is the improper placements on appropriate Salary Grade Levels. It was concluded that a proper guideline should be provided by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) and that Item 4 of the MoU of December 16, 2013 should be adopted.

“The Item 4 states that ‘the FMoH, NSIWC, NMA should urgently review the NMA’s proposal on skipping of CONTISS 10/CONHESS10/COMESS 2 in the new Scheme of Service with a view to amending it to reflect the suspension of the circular on unauthorised skipping of equivalent of CONMESS 2 for medical doctors in the Public Service.

“The amended proposal shall be forwarded to the HCSF through the FMoH for an onward presentation to the forthcoming National Council on Establishment (NCE) on 24th January, 2014 in Ilorin.” In view of this earlier position, it was concluded that the Honourable Minister of Health (HMoH) should drive this issue and that no circular should be issued on the matter until it is concluded by the HMoH.

“In view of the expected meeting of the Council of Establishment, the end of October was given as the tentative time limit to conclude the assignment by the FMoH and Office of the HCSF. Hospitals that are yet to implement skipping for doctors are to commence and henceforth, promotions should be in accordance with the Public Service Rules.

ALSO READ  World’s oldest woman dies in Jamaica

“Based on the information given by the members of NARD, it was noted that only 18 Federal Tertiary Health Institutions had so far submitted their Nominal Roll. 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.

“It was concluded 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 of the 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”.

“In view of the foregoing terms of settlement, NARD agreed to meet in an Emergency Session before Monday, September 4, 2017, for the presentation of this Memorandum to her National Executive Council with a view to averting the scheduled strike.”

Related Topics:
Comments

News

Kogi Assembly Urges EFCC to Remove ‘Wanted’ Tag on Ex- Gov. Yahaya Bello

Published

2 days ago

on

April 24, 2024

By

In a recent session of the Kogi State House of Assembly, members passed a resolution urging the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to remove the ‘wanted’ tag placed on the immediate past Governor of the state, Yahaya Bello.

The resolution was reached during plenary on Tuesday, following a presentation by Jibrin Abu, the representative of Ajaokuta State Constituency.

Abu brought forth a motion titled, ‘A call to end all false, frivolous, fictitious, and far from the truth smear campaign against the former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.’

Abu alleged that the anti-graft agency had been engaging in a witch-hunt against Bello, stating, “Kogi State, by allocation standard, is not rich so much so that N80.4b will be missing that the State will not be shaken to its foundation. This claim by the EFCC should be sanctioned and taken as laughable. Innocent Nigerians and Kogi State citizens that bought into the lies should by their personal volition withdraw their support.”

Former Deputy Speaker of the House, Enema Paul, echoed Abu’s sentiments, urging the EFCC to uphold the rule of law.

In his ruling, Speaker Aliyu Yusuf emphasized the importance of the EFCC operating within the boundaries of the law.

ALSO READ  'Despite nature's blessings, we live in dejection', Osun community laments

He stated, “This House is not against the EFCC doing their job but they should do it within the ambit of the law and not in a Gestapo way. The country belongs to all of us, so we must respect the law and work with it.”

 

Continue Reading

News

‘Catch And Kill’ Architect Details Trump-Boosting Scheme

Published

2 days ago

on

April 24, 2024

By

TOPSHOT – Former US President Donald Trump, with attorney Todd Blanche (L), walks toward the press to speak after attending his trial for allegedly covering up hush money payments linked to extramarital affairs, at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York City on April 23, 2024. (Photo by Yuki Iwamura / POOL / AFP)

In the 1990s, Donald Trump famously gossiped to the tabloids about — who else — himself, a headline-chaser who loved none other than to see his name in lights, or at least in the supermarket checkout line.

 

But those were Trump’s good old days, an era of clubs and models, long before he launched a bid for the US presidency and found himself needing to squash the lewd, party boy stories he once boasted about.

 

Cue David Pecker, the former publishing executive whose titles included the National Enquirer, and who on Tuesday in a Manhattan courtroom laid out the “catch and kill” strategy he carried out in a bid to support Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

 

In a then-secret meeting in August 2015, Trump and his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen met with Pecker to ask how he and his publications could “help the campaign,” the 72-year-old witness testified

Trump “dated the most beautiful women,” Pecker explained, “and it was clear that, based on my past experience, that when someone is running for a public office like this, it is very common for these women to call up a magazine like the National Enquirer to try to sell their stories.”

ALSO READ  Obasanjo, IBB, Danjuma, Jonathan, others to be arrested – Fani-Kayode reveals ‘Buhari’s targets’

‘Fake news’ sells

Speaking under oath, Pecker, who sported a pink tie and slicked back hair, essentially confessed to trafficking so-called “fake news” to both his and Trump’s benefit, while simultaneously paying off several people whose tales had the potential to damage candidate Trump’s reputation.

He said “popular stories about Mr. Trump” as well as “negative stories about his opponents” would “only increase newsstand sales.”

“Publishing these types of stories was also going to benefit his campaign,” Pecker said. “Both parties benefited from it.”

Pecker offered a portal into the editorial practices of outlets like his own, which had no shame in paying for stories and focused far more on the cover than the content.

“We would do a lot of research to determine what… the proper cover of the magazine would be,” Pecker said.

“Every time we did this, Mr. Trump would be the top celebrity,” Pecker said, describing the magnate’s pre-politician days and pointing to his star turn as the top guy on his own reality show “The Apprentice,” and its celebrity-starring sequel.

In recalling Trump’s first campaign era, the prosecution presented bombastic headlines disparaging the Republican’s opponents, such as “Bungling surgeon Ben Carson left sponge in patient’s brain” and “Ted Cruz shamed by porn star.”

ALSO READ  TechU is A Product of PPP, Subscriptions & Stakeholders Contributions, says Ajimobi.  

Pecker said such ideas often came from or were shaped by Cohen, Trump’s then-fixer who is expected to be a star witness in the New York state trial.

But Pecker also said he wanted to keep his “agreement among friends” with Trump and Cohen “as quiet as possible.”

Among the times he said he killed a story regarding Donald Trump, it centered on a Trump Tower doorman who was peddling a false claim that Trump had fathered a child out of wedlock with one of his former employees.

Pecker said he thought it was important to buy the story and keep it quiet for Trump’s benefit — as well as his own.

He said had the story been true, he planned to publish it “after the election.”

“If the story was true, and I published it, it would be probably the biggest sale of the National Enquirer since the death of Elvis Presley.”

 

Continue Reading

News

In 2023, Report Finds 282 Million Faced Acute Hunger

Published

2 days ago

on

April 24, 2024

By

Pedestrians and vehicles move along a road outside a branch of the Central Bank of Sudan in the country’s eastern city of Gedaref on July 9, 2023. (Photo by – / AFP)

Food insecurity worsened around the world in 2023, with some 282 million people suffering from acute hunger due to conflicts, particularly in Gaza and Sudan, UN agencies and development groups said Wednesday.

Extreme weather events and economic shocks also added to the number of those facing acute food insecurity, which grew by 24 million people compared with 2022, according to the latest global report on food crises from the Food Security Information Network (FSIN).

The report, which called the global outlook “bleak” for this year, is produced for an international alliance bringing together UN agencies, the European Union and governmental and non-governmental bodies.

2023 was the fifth consecutive year of rises in the number of people suffering acute food insecurity — defined as when populations face food deprivation that threatens lives or livelihoods, regardless of the causes or length of time.

Much of last year’s increase was due to report’s expanded geographic coverage, as well as deteriorating conditions in 12 countries.

More geographical areas experienced “new or intensified shocks” while there was a “marked deterioration in key food crisis contexts such as Sudan and the Gaza Strip”, Fleur Wouterse, deputy director of the emergencies office within the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), told AFP.

ALSO READ  TechU is A Product of PPP, Subscriptions & Stakeholders Contributions, says Ajimobi.  

Some 700,000 people, including 600,000 in Gaza, were on the brink of starvation last year, a figure that has since climbed yet higher to 1.1 million in the war-ridden Palestinian territory.

 Children starving

Since the first report by the Global Food Crisis Network covering 2016, the number of food-insecure people has risen from 108 million to 282 million, Wouterse said.

Meanwhile, the share of the population affected within the areas concerned has doubled 11 percent to 22 percent, she added.

Protracted major food crises are ongoing in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Syria and Yemen.

“In a world of plenty, children are starving to death,” wrote UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in the report’s foreword.

“War, climate chaos and a cost-of-living crisis — combined with inadequate action — mean that almost 300 million people faced acute food crisis in 2023.”

“Funding is not keeping pace with need,” he added.

This is especially true as the costs of distributing aid have risen.

For 2024, progress will depend on the end of hostilities, said Wouterse, who stressed that aid could “rapidly” alleviate the crisis in Gaza or Sudan, for example, once humanitarian access to the areas is possible.

Floods and droughts

Worsening conditions in Haiti were due to political instability and reduced agricultural production, “where in the breadbasket of the Artibonite Valley, armed groups have seized agricultural land and stolen crops”, Wouterse said.

ALSO READ  Ibadan Chief Imam defies NSCIA, MUSWEN, Sultan’s order, celebrates Eid-Fitri

The El Nino weather phenomenon could also lead to severe drought in West and Southern Africa, she added.

According to the report, situations of conflict or insecurity have become the main cause of acute hunger in 20 countries or territories, where 135 million people have suffered.

Extreme climatic events such as floods or droughts were the main cause of acute food insecurity for 72 million people in 18 countries, while economic shocks pushed 75 million people into this situation in 21 countries.

“Decreasing global food prices did not transmit to low-income, import-dependent countries,” said the report.

At the same time, high debt levels “limited government options to mitigate the effects of high prices”.

On a positive note, the situation improved in 17 countries in 2023, including the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine, the report found.

 

Continue Reading
Advertisement

Tweets by ‎@megaiconmagg

Subscribe to our Newsletter

* indicates required

MegaIcon Magazine Facebook Page

Advertisement

MEGAICON TV

Trending