A wave of strikes by health workers started last November when the medical interns complained of meagre earnings and working under harsh conditions characterized by perennial shortages of hospital consumables.
The Uganda Medical Association President Dr Samuel
Oledo has faulted striking staff for "complaining about how much food has been put on their plates when it’s still being
served in the kitchen. He was referring to an ongoing strike by Allied Health Practitioners
that gas entered this fifth day today.
A wave of strikes by
health workers started last November when the medical interns complained of meagre
earnings and working under harsh conditions characterized by perennial shortages
of hospital consumables.
These kept growing
sinking in the Uganda Medical Association, the Nurses and Midwives Union,
Laboratory Technicians, and Science Teachers to now a group of Allied Health Professionals including radiographers, dental practitioners, medical records
officers, counsellors and theatre practitioners among others who all demand a
pay rise.
But, Oledo
says the increase in medical interns’ salaries to 2.5 million Shillings last year and the
latest 400 billion Shillings that the government has earmarked to cater for pay rises
in the next financial year that’s just a month away is an indicator that the government
will be paying.
He says
coming out to strike now is selfish and inconsiderate to Ugandans at a time
when the economy is crushing.
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Oledo, added that when they were negotiating for the pay rise, the concerns
of all health practitioners were tabled before the government. He, however, issued fresh threats
of a mega industrial action should government fail to honour its pledge of
enhancing doctors’ salaries come July.
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But Patrick Dennis Alibu, the Chairperson of the Uganda Allied Health
Professionals’ Associations who doubles as Secretary-General of the Uganda
Medical Laboratory Technology Association said the association couldn’t have
presented their concerns when they were at no time consulted about their input.
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He explains
that while it’s clear what senior, junior and medical intern doctors will earn with
the proposed pay rise, it’s unclear, for instance, how much a degree holder
allied health practitioner such as a lab technologist will earn since this cadre wasn’t
earlier provided for.
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Now, after
petitioning both the speaker, ministries of Health and Public Service unsuccessfully,
the allied health workers resolved to on Wednesday write to the President and
had not yet gotten feedback by press time. When asked
about the same, Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng said their grievances were
still being reviewed by the Ministry of Public Service which will then give guidance
on the way forward.
