By Spy Uganda
Finally Uganda Medical Association (UMA) an umbrella association for doctors has called off its strike till May 2022.
According to UMA president, Dr Samuel Oledo, medical workers will resume work tomorrow Thursday as they wait government’s promise of sorting their issues in the next financial year.
“Today marks our 29th day, and today marks the day that you can see our faces we’re speaking with some little joy on our faces indicating that we have the absolute assurance to Ugandans that our patients matter most. And giving a service is an inherited right that doctors have inside them,” said Oledo.
He said doctors will receive their enhanced salary of Shs 5million starting July next year when the new financial year starts. According to him, the government has also committed to consider getting them duty-free vehicles, and is now putting together members of a task force to handle issues of compensation.
“UMA has already submitted names of seven members to sit on the committee. These will be representing and negotiating for families of the 85 health workers that died, of whom 35 were medical doctors,” Dr Oledo said.
Although doctors have called off their strike, the medical laboratory professionals insist that their grievances haven’t been attended to and that they are continuing with their industrial action. Uganda Medical Laboratory Technology Association (UMLTA) secretary general Patrick Dennis Alibu said they want government to pay graduate lab professionals, the same pay of Shs 5million as medical doctors.
“Our position is not in line with theirs, the industrial action we held was strictly under the association of the lab technicians. So if they call off theirs based on the negotiations they have had with government, as lab techs, we have not been engaged, ours remains. Then the salary disparities, the negotiation has not taken effect to our interest. So if the doctors have theirs that is them, this is the stand of the lab fraternity. Our stand is we are still on strike,” said Alibu.
