The Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) says 14 of its 17 branches have voted to support a three-day warning strike scheduled to begin next Tuesday.
According to a statement by the association’s Acting Secretary-General, Prof. Aniekan Peter, the industrial action will be total and comprehensive across medical schools in Nigeria.
Peter said the decision followed what the association described as the Federal Government’s failure to address longstanding concerns affecting medical lecturers, amid a shortage of academic staff and increasing migration of health professionals.
The issues raised by NAMDA include the failure of the government, through the Ahmed Yahale Committee, to conclude negotiations on the conditions of service for medical lecturers.
The association also cited the failure to formally document the payment of medical lecturers under the CONMESS salary structure, as well as the non-payment of the Medical and Clinical Academic Teaching Allowance (MCATA).
Other outstanding payments listed include Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), Excess Workload Allowance and Professorial Allowance.
Peter warned that the situation was worsening the shortage of medical lecturers and said the government should return to the negotiating table to resolve the disputes before the warning strike begins.
He also criticised the government’s response to the migration of doctors, arguing that efforts to increase the number of doctors would not address the problem without investment in the medical lecturers responsible for training them.
“Medical lecturers are therefore being pushed into an avoidable strike,” the association said.
The development could affect academic activities across medical schools if the planned action proceeds next week.