Resident doctors in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Tuesday gave the administration 21 days from Monday to promote resident doctors who have been denied promotion due to the implementation of skipping policy since 2016.
The FCT administration is also to pay arrears of 26-day allowances due doctors and convert those who have completed their residency training.
The Association of Resident Doctors (ARD) in the FCT said it cannot “guarantee industrial harmony” if the management of the FCT administration fails to correct the anomalies.
The promotion of around 150 resident doctors across the FCT’s 14 district and general hospitals, primary health centres, primary health care board and public health agencies have been stagnated since the FCT began implementing the “skipping” policy in 2016.
“Many of them had their promotion delayed and were skipped to the next grade level. When the promotion was eventually done, they were still promoted to the same grade level they have been skipped to,” he said.
ARD issued a 21-day ultimatum, prompting a meeting with the immediate past FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, Permanent Secretary, Chinyeaka Ohaa, and the FCTA’s director for human resource management.
The minister directed that affected staff be promoted to the next grade level after corrections were effected in the 2017 promotion schedule.
“The 2017 promotion exercise was approved by the immediate past FCT minister and our members were still promoted to the same grade level they were skipped to and this has continued unabated with the screening of those eligible for promotion in 2018,” Aigbovo told a press conference in Abuja Monday.
Some 64 doctors were denied promotion in 2016 and another 88 in 2017. Screening for 2018 promotion was done and the ARD is worried its members may still be denied promotion if the corrections are not effected.
In addition, it said, doctors who have completed their residency to become specialists “are made to work as consultants and paid as medical officers for as long to two to three years due to delays in fully converting them appropriately.
“This we believe is inappropriate and should be reversed,” ARD said in a statement after a general meeting in Abuja.
“They are putting in man-hours and expertise, doing the work of specialists, carrying the burden of their medical teams but being paid as medical officers,” Aigbovo stated.
