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Medical, dental consultants threaten strike over unpaid entitlements, others

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Consultants in hospitals under the umbrella of the Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) have threatened to withdraw their services nationwide from August 16th, 2021, over unpaid entitlements, welfare packages and conditions of service.

MDCAN said the planned strike will be total, absolute and indefinite, and expectedly, will have a devastating effect on medical education and clinical services across the country.

It disclosed that all efforts at engaging various arms and agencies of government with the aim of achieving a negotiated peaceable solution in the past 10 years has failed, hence the decision to withdraw services effective August 16th.

The Association advised the Government and its agencies to seize the opportunity of the ultimatum to prevent another round of unnecessary disruption of medical education and clinical services across the country

MDCAN President, Prof. Ken Ozoilo, said the decision to down tools was taken in Jos, at the end of its emergency of the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Association in which some members participated physically while others joined via the digital platforms.

He explained that the Medical and Dental Consultants are unhappy with unfair labour treatment being received from their employers, which they have taken steps to redress but failed.

He said the sole agenda for the emergency NEC meeting was to deliberate on the continued underpayment of members who are clinical lecturers in Universities across Nigeria, against the backdrop of the letter from the National Salaries, Incomes And Wages Commission (NSIWC) of 23rd April 2021, Ref no: SWC/S/04/S.410/T/86, to the Office of the Account General of the Federation (OAGF) directing the removal of doctors who are lecturers from the CONMESS salary scale on the IPPIS platform for the payment of their salaries in the Universities.

The NEC of the Association observed that its members have suffered massive income loss in the past 10 years, and it was the direct result of the fact that they do two full-time jobs in both the Universities and the teaching hospitals.

They explained that the income loss extends into retirement as their retirement benefits are much reduced due to the income loss incurred in the University, in addition to that fact that their work in the teaching hospital is under-compensated, and also the fact that the remuneration system in the University does not recognize them as doctors, despite the fact that the University primarily employs them because of the fact that they are doctors.

They also observed that the income loss has led to the increasing difficulty in attracting the brightest and the best of Consultants into the University as lecturers, a steady exodus of the few doctors in academia to service centres and a worsening of the brain drain phenomenon.

The Association in a communique issued at the end of its emergency NEC meeting demanded, thus immediate withdrawal of the NSIWC letter Ref no: SWC/S/04/S.410/T/86, of 23rd April 2021, that ordered the removal of doctors from CONMESS on the IPPIS platform in the University.

It demanded that a directive be issued to the effect that all Universities previously paying their clinical lecturers on the CONMESS scale before the aforesaid NSIWC letter should revert back to that practice immediately.

Similarly, it demanded immediate placement of all clinical lecturers in the remaining universities on CONMESS scale for the purpose of their remuneration in the University, alternatively, award compensation for the income loss incurred by doctors in the University on account of being lecturers, provided that it reflects in their pension contributions.

The Association also suggested that doctors migrating from teaching hospitals to the Universities upon completion of residency training should do so with their salaries personal to them. It rejected a practice whereby Senior Registrars lose income when they migrate from the teaching hospitals to become lecturers 1 in the University.

The Association asked for compensation for the clinical work done in the teaching hospitals by increasing the clinical duty allowance to 100 per cent of the consolidated basic salary of the CONMESS scale, and a halt to the proposed movement of consultants from IPPIS back to GIFMIS for the purposes of payment of their salaries.

Culled from the Sun News

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Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.

In the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Emilio Garcia said that after a night out in 2022 in Ibiza, Spain, he was in an SUV with the hip-hop star when she began having sex with another woman right next to him. He was unable to get out of the moving car, and would have been in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country even if he was able. Garcia was “embarrassed, mortified and offended throughout the whole ordeal,” according to the lawsuit.

Alex Spiro, Megan’s lawyer, said she would fight the lawsuit in court.

“This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” Spiro said.

The next day Megan told Garcia never to discuss what he saw and berated and fat-shamed him, the lawsuit said. The complaint also said Garcia, who had already considered quitting because he was overworked and underpaid in a hostile work environment aggravated by Megan’s possessiveness and abusiveness, was misclassified as an independent contractor but treated as an exclusive employee.

Garcia raised those issues in the conversation with Megan, and was fired the following day after four years of working for her, the suit said. He has since filed a job discrimination complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.

The lawsuit, first reported by NBC News, names as defendants Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete; her companies Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment and Hot Girl Touring; and her label, Roc Nation. A defense response has yet to be filed. There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from a representative of Roc Nation.

Garcia is seeking financial damages to be determined at trial, alleging he has suffered severely both emotionally and physically because of his treatment on the job, the firing and having to witness the scene in the SUV.

Megan, 29, was previously involved in major legal drama — and underwent a torrent of online abuse — as the victim of a shooting by rapper Tory Lanez, who a jury found fired at her feet on a street in the Hollywood Hills in 2020. She testified at the trial where jurors convicted Lanez of three felonies and a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Already a major rising artist at the time of the shooting, Megan has since become one of hip-hop’s biggest stars. She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and she had No. 1 singles with “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Houston’s Urban South Brewery Celebrates Fourth Anniversary

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Urban South Brewery Houston will host its upcoming Anniversary Party from Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7, in the HTX Taproom, starting at 11 AM, celebrating four years of crafting exceptional brews and fostering community culture. This milestone event will be an exciting day featuring live music, food, activities, and a vendor market.

Beer enthusiasts are also in for a treat with the release of four exclusive anniversary specialty beers. Highlights include “Press Start,” a crafted Czech Pale Lager brewed in collaboration with Parleaux Beer Lab. Additionally, beer fans can indulge in “Level Up,” an Old-Fashioned Cocktail Sour Ale infused with orange peel, Luxardo cherry syrup, and subtle bourbon barrel notes. The offerings continue with “High Score,” a robust Double IPA bursting with flavors of Mosaic, Citra, and Chinook hops, and “Game Over,” a decadent Neapolitan Ice Cream Stout layered with strawberry fruit, Tahitian vanilla bean, and milk chocolate.

To make the celebration even more memorable, fans can pre-order an Exclusive 8-Bit Beer Box featuring the four-anniversary specialty beers (Press Start, Level Up, High Score, Game Over), a 16oz can-shaped Silipint with discounted refills, and 2 tokens redeemable for draft beer.

The Anniversary Party is open to the public, welcoming families and furry friends. Urban South Brewery invites everyone to join in the festivities and toast to four years of brewing excellence.

For more information on Urban South’s Anniversary Celebration, follow the Houston taproom on Instagram and Facebook.

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