Medical and dental schools in the South-West region have commenced payment of the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) to members of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), newsmen has learnt.
This follows the suspension of the indefinite strike embarked upon in February by MDCAN members in the region over the non-payment of CONMESS.
Speaking with our correspondent on Sunday, the Chairman of MDCAN in the South-West, Dr AbdulKareem Salawu, confirmed the development.
“Some of the schools have started paying, while a few are yet to begin. For instance, the University of Lagos, the University of Ibadan, and Obafemi Awolowo University have commenced payment,” he said.
He noted that OAU has started paying the basic components and has pledged to settle the arrears once funds are available.
However, two state-owned institutions — Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Oyo State, and Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State – are yet to commence payment.
“Both OOU and LAUTECH have made strong commitments to begin payment soon, and we’re making significant progress,” he added.
He explained that the decision to suspend the strike was reached after a series of interventions and negotiations with various stakeholders.
“We had an agreement with the school management before resuming. Medical elders intervened, and we engaged with the government, the Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the Ministry of Education. These discussions eventually led to a resolution”, he said.
He defended the strike action, saying it was necessary to prevent an exodus of medical educators from the country.
“If we hadn’t gone on strike, our teaching staff might have moved to institutions where CONMESS is paid or even gone abroad,” he said.
On the effect of the strike on academic activities, he acknowledged there were disruptions but assured that the academic calendar would not be compromised.
“Yes, there were disruptions, but we have structured medical education to recover. Unlike conventional universities, medical training requires a minimum number of weeks, particularly in preclinical studies, which must cover at least 40 weeks.
“We can’t compromise on medical education. If we had already completed 10 weeks before the strike, we would still need to complete the remaining 30 weeks. It’s non-negotiable. The Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria won’t accept anything less. We’re dealing with human lives, so training must be thorough,” he said.
The Punch
