The Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the federal government to implement the upward review of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) and other demands.
In a communique issued on Monday after its National Executive Council meeting, the association said it could “no longer guarantee the present relative industrial harmony within the public hospitals and our medical schools if the issues were not satisfactorily resolved.”
The association said it observed with dismay, the non-implementation of the jointly agreed upward review of CONMESS and the introduction of accoutrement allowance with the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
It said the released circular only captured the percentage increase on the basic salary, as against applying it to both the basic salary and all allowances except hazard allowance.
MDCAN said the commencement date for the new circular was agreed to be the 1st of January 2023 rather than the 1st of June 2023.
The association said the recent upward review of CONMESS did not take into consideration the consequences of the fuel subsidy removal and exponential inflation that has pervaded the socioeconomic space in the past three months.
The medical and dental consultants demanded the immediate review of the newly revised CONMESS circular and the issuance of a new circular that would reflect the agreed percentage on both the basic salary and other allowances, apart from hazard allowance.
They said this would ensure that the clinical lecturers (Honorary Consultants) would benefit from the upward review.
