The Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), Chukwuemeka Odumegwu University Teaching Hospital (COUTH), Amaku-Awka chapter has vowed to embark on indefinite strike action from next week Tuesday if the Anambra state government fails to address their plight.
MDCAN which was agitating for salary equalization, had on July 8, 2019 suspended its warning strike as the state government constituted a committee whose mandate was to resolve the issue amicably and submit an agreed template within one month.
According to Chairman of the association, Dr Chukwudi Okani, “The best qualified professors and consultants at Chukwuemeka Odumegwu University Teaching Hospital earn salary that is lower than what House officer (a newly employed medical doctor) earn. We earn 30% of what our colleagues in other states and federal teaching hospitals earn. When we embarked on strike on July, we were begged to suspend it with a promise that we will receive the new salary structure in one month.
“But nothing is yet to be done for over three months. The committee has not submitted the template we agreed on. We will embark on indefinite strike if at the end of Tuesday, they fail to submit it to the government and the government fails to meet up with its obligation and promises. We will meet after Tuesday and based on a collective decision, we may not guarantee industrial harmony at the end of the ultimatum.”
He added that “There are so many things going wrong in this teaching hospital that requires urgent attention. The wards are dilapidated. We don’t have enough doctors. We don’t have enough house officers. We, the consultants over labour ourselves due to lack of enough staff to assist. Our resident doctors are leaving; those remaining are frustrated. There are no new consultants, resident doctors or house officers willing to work here.”
Contributing, the immediate past chairman of MDCAN COOUTH chapter, Dr Amaechi Nwachukwu, lamented over the delay by the committee to release the report adding that the governor earlier wanted them to do that in two weeks but the committee appealed for one month and it was obliged yet it has not been adhered three months after.
“We learnt that some persons are trying to scuttle their efforts through delay tactics. We don’t want the delay tactics played by the committee. We don’t want patents to die due to greed of some people. This demand is for benefit of us all. My salary is less than a House Officer while I have worked for over six years as a consultant. Once we commence an indefinite strike, it cannot be called off till we receive salary alert showing the new template. “We are not talking of new salary but that the government should pay us between 70 percent to 100 percent of salary template our colleagues at other state teaching hospitals across the country receive. We are not demanding for what the federal government is paying. We met with the committee and agreed that they should consider what is being paid to our colleagues at Enugu State University Teaching Hospital (ESUTH). We are not insisting on 100% of that but at least between 70% or 100%. We can’t accept 30% of it anymore,” he noted.
