COVID-19 frontline workers at Jinja Hospital strike over allowance

JINJA- The discharge of the first COVID-19 patient from Jinja Hospital on Thursday was marred by a strike that was staged by 40 health workers who are demanding their unpaid daily allowances.

The medics say, they were supposed to get Shs95, 000 every day but some of the money has not been paid to them since March 23.

As has been the norm countrywide, whenever a COVID-19 patients recover and are being discharged, frontline health workers celebrate the milestone by dancing to Christian songs of praise.

However, Jinja Hospital health workers decided to lay their tools down on Wednesday while another COVID-19 patient was being wheeled into the facility.

Mr Robert Gatama, an in-charge of the Isolation Unit, said that they are each entitled to a risk allowance of Shs80, 000 and refreshment allowance of Shs15, 000 per day as stipulated in the guidelines and circulars sent by the Ministry of Health.

"The same guidelines also stipulate that we are supposed to be paid that money every week, but we have never received a single coin since March 23,” he said. "No communication has been made and all our meetings to sort out the matter have always been interrupted by the hospital administration."

He said that on Wednesday, they decided to hold a meeting but hospital administers described it as illegal.

Mr Muhammad Were, the hospital administrator, persuaded the workers to resume work and have their issues sorted during a meeting on Thursday.

The meeting, which was attended by the workers, Mr Were, police officers and District Security Officer reportedly failed how the arrears would be paid to workers.

Dr Florence Tugumisirize, the Jinja hospital director, said when she heard about the workers' meeting, she thought they were going to rehearse how they would discharge the first COVID-19 patient.

"I've only heard about that strike from the media. I understand they are demanding the Shs20, 000 daily allowance. Why demand for balance when nobody has been paid. The reason nobody has been paid is because they I haven't received their bank account numbers," Dr Tugumisirize said.

She said that even if she had their account numbers, they are not entitled to Shs80, 000 per day since everyone is paid according to their salary scales.

She said that support staff are each entitled to Shs50, 000, health workers Shs60, 000 each, while those on salary scale U1 and U2 are each entitled to Shs80, 000 per day.

 Mr Gatama, however, said that the guidelines have no such a scale.

 "The guidelines say high risk, moderate risk and low risk; and we are in isolation units where the risk is universal," he said. How does she say we have not submitted our bank accounts yet we are employed here and receive salaries?"

The health workers say the meeting resolved that they were illegally meeting at the hospital and that they should go home.

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