Kogi NMA Kicks against Pay Cut

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Kogi State chapter, has rejected the proposed percentage salary payment to its members by the state Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.

In a statement issued by the state NMA Chairman, Dr Kabiru Zubair,  at the weekend in Lokoja, he said the NMA strongly rejected any salary cut for doctors and other health care workers (HCWs) in the state.

The statement read in part: “The attention of the NMA Kogi State chapter has been drawn by her affiliate bodies in the state to the proposed wage cut by the state government.

“The NMA is not unaware of the ongoing global pandemic and the consequent economic down turn. But the NMA strongly rejects any salary cut for doctors and other health care workers.

“This is because doctors in the state have just been getting along with the half salary before now occasioned by the non-implementation of corrected Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS), the new minimum wage of N30, 000 and it's consequent adjustment, skipping and relativity, promotion and annual step increment.

“Hence, the average doctor working with the state civil service is already at a serious financial disadvantage compared to his or her counterpart working with the Federal Civil Service or in other states of the federation where the salary adjustment has been implemented.”

Zubair stressed that any further cut on the salaries of doctors and other HCWs in the state would further impoverish them, and would certainly accelerate the exodus of doctors from the state civil service.

He added that doctors and other HCWs remained the foot soldiers at the forefront of the fight against the ongoing COVID-19, and are being appreciated across to globe.

The chairman noted that the federal government had recently increased the hazard allowance of all HCWs from the paltry N5,000 monthly to 50 percent of their consolidated basic salary in order to encourage and retain them to do more for the country, saying it was commendable.

''The NMA expects Kogi State Government to take similar step to encourage and retain her HCWs at this time and not to cut their wages.

''This is not the time to start losing doctors and other HCWs due to salary matters, as we are in the middle of a healthcare war that we do not know when it will end,” Zubair said.

He further drew the attention of the state government to the emerging challenges with respect to patients’ management in hospitals due to ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, as community transmission of the disease has escalated in Nigeria.