Association president Dr Samuel Oledo said doctors will receive their enhanced salary of Shs5million in July when the new financial year starts. He says the government has also committed to consider getting them duty free vehicles and that it is now putting together members of the taskforce to handle issues of compensation. He says if government repeats the same tricks this time, they will without notice go back to industrial action on the 1st of May 2022.
Betty Arum, the Hospital Accountant acknowledges the delays in payments of the allowances to the medical interns citing that the money had bounced on their accounts due to errors.
The strike by cleaners has triggered a foul smell in the wards. Some patients and their attendants were seen improvising to clean the wards using their own manpower. Doctors have also avoided making rounds in the wards.
On Thursday, the workers held a sit-down strike protesting the manner in which one of their colleagues were assaulted by a district councillor, David Okiror.
Though the Uganda Medical Association UMA has set 8.5 million Uganda shillings as salary that must be paid to intern doctors, Robert Lubega, the president of medical intern for 2017-2018 says they have lowered their salary demands to 2.5 million as non-negotiable. The intern doctors laid down tools together with licensed doctors on November 6 pushing for better pay.
Dr. Orec says that they held a meeting with the health ministry, which promised to pay up but later wrote back notifying them that the money will be paid in the near future, which specifying any dates.
Tororo general hospital administration was on Monday thrown into panic following a strike by cleaners over non-payment of their wages for the last two months.
