The leadership of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association (MDCAN) Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife, Osun State chapter, has disclosed that it would commence on Monday as directed by the South West zone of the association.
This followed the 21-day ultimatum given to the Vice Chancellors of universities in the zone for placement of clinical lecturers on the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS) as obtained in all medical colleges in Nigerian universities.
The association, which made specific reference to an unfortunate situation in OAU, demanded immediate commencement of CONMESS salary structure for clinical lecturers.
Giving details of the compliance of OAU clinical lecturers to the strike directive, OAU MDCAN chairman, Dr Olufemi Ogundipe, and the general secretary, Dr. Tajudin Adetunji, in a statement issued said academic activities at the College of Health Sciences in the university involving all clinical lecturers would be shut down.
They maintained that the union could no longer tolerate huge disparity in emoluments and several years of income loss due to non-implementation of CONMESS in OAU, vowing to resist the injustice.
According to the statement, “We are demanding immediate payment of CONMESS to all clinical lecturers in OAU to save the future of medical education in the foremost citadel of learning.”
However, “The fate of final year dental students of OAU now hangs in the balance,” according to a source who pleaded anonymity.
One of the clinical lecturers at the university, who preferred anonymity to avoid victimisation, while speaking to the Nigerian Tribune, on the likely implications of the strike, said “the Dental final year examination commences on Monday and will be badly affected by the strike if urgent measures are not taken to avert it.
“Other professional exams scheduled to hold in February may also be in jeopardy. Our resolve as an association is to go ahead with the strike. And with that position, the effects on students’ examination and other academic activities exercise is better imagined than experienced.”
While appealing to the management of OAU to avert the industrial action, MDCAN bemoaned the dearth of clinical lecturers and dwindling fortunes of medical education in the country and blamed the development on nonchalant attitude of the authorities to the challenges ravaging the nation’s health sector.
When contacted, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of OAU, Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, said he would find out from the university Vice Chancellor, Professor Simeon Bamire.
He stated: “In the first instance, the VC is not around. It is a thing I will find out from the Vice Chancellor himself and I know the appropriate organ of the university must have been put on notice concerning this.
“Our VC is people-friendly, who prioritises welfare of staff and students and I don’t think the VC will deliberately not want to implement CONMESS. Let’s see how the event unfolds because we will not deliberately do financial injustice to those who are due for it,” Olarewaju remarked.
