By Fatima Mohammed-Lawal
THE UNIVERSITY of Ilorin (UNILORIN)clinical lecturers have embarked on an indefinite strike to prevail on the Management to pay their salaries, using the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS).
The clinical lecturers are members of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) and Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) of the university.
They announced the commencement of the action in a statement jointly signed by the Chairman and Secretary, MDCAN, University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH), Prof. Olatunde Ibrahim, and Dr Nurudeen Abdulraheem, respectively, and made available to newsmen on Tuesday.
The other signatories were the Chairman and Secretary, NAMDA, Prof. Mohammad Abdulkadir and Dr Ganiyu Oloko, respectively.
They explained that the strike was a total withdrawal of service, including clinical academic activities, class and bedside teachings, practicals, examination and accreditation, official meetings, and any other activities in the university.
“The strike will continue until our members are migrated and paid, using CONMESS as enshrined in relevant government circulars and implemented by most federal universities, with the arrears from July 2023,” the statement added.
The lecturers recalled that the associations issued a statement, on October 7, notifying the public about the strike.
They also stated that a 21-day notice was issued to the university management.
“The matter at hand relates to the failure of the university to appropriately remunerate clinical lecturers as medical doctors, using the CONMESS.
“At present, all clinical lecturers in federal government-owned conventional universities with medical schools are paying CONMESS.
“This is with the exception of the University of Ilorin and universities in the Southwestern region of the country, including the University of Ibadan, University of Lagos and Obafemi Awolowo University.
“This has resulted in a situation where clinical lecturers at the University of Ilorin earn about half of what their colleagues in other federal universities earn.
“Indeed, this discrepancy in salary has been on for more than five years, when compared to other universities,” they said.
They also noted that the associations had explored all efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the issue, without success.
According to them, the University of Ilorin’s administration failed to accede to their demands and communicate the same to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System of the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
They argued that the “discriminately, inadequate pay was a major contributor to clinical lecturers migrating from the university to other states and outside the shores of Nigeria”.
The groups stated that the strike was limited to their role as clinical lecturers in the university, and did not affect their clinical duties at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. (NAN)
