Medical interns resume work tomorrow

The government has announced that medical interns have agreed to resume work on Monday following a meeting with their leaders on Friday.

But the head of medical interns, Dr Lilian Nabwire, told this newspaper that the date is tentative because they will first hold a meeting with their members on Monday to come up with the final decision.

The interns have been on strike since November 8 because of the delay by the government to enhance their allowance as had been promised and directed by President Museveni.  Medical officers joined the strike on November 22 over the same issues and other gaps in the health system.

In a letter written on Friday by the Information minister, Dr Chris Baryomunsi, to Uganda Medical Association, funds for the interns have been availed by the government.

“The [Friday] meeting agreed and confirmed that funds for payment of interns allowances will be transferred to the accounts of the internship training centres from December 20,” Dr Baryomunsi said in the letter.

“Enhanced internship allowances (intern medical doctors Shs2.5m,  pharmacists Shs2m, and [graduate] nurses/midwives 1.5m per month) inclusive of arrears will be paid to all eligible medical interns with effect from July 1 to November 6 when they went on strike,” the letter reads further. 

Salaries 
This is the same amount the President had earlier directed the Finance ministry to pay interns. Senior house officers, doctors who are training in hospitals as they study to become specialists, will also be paid Shs2.5m.

However, those who stayed on duty shall be paid up to the end of December, 2021 and going forward these will be the monthly rates, according to the letter.

This comes a few days after the interns and other leaders of UMA were arrested by Police on Wednesday along with for illegal procession as they marched to take their grievances to Parliament. But they were released on bond the same day.

Dr Nabwire told this newspaper yesterday that the agreed date of resuming work is still tentative
“After getting the assurance and the Ministry of Health confirming that they have got the money from Finance ministry and they are to dispatch it in about one week’s time to hospital accounts, we thought that government has made progress. So we can resume work as they process the money,” she said.

Dr Baryomunsi said the UMA executive has also agreed to meet with their members to agree on the way forward regarding the industrial action by Monday.

“Fumi and UMA have agreed to withdraw the application for a court injunction filed against the directive of the Director General of Health services requiring medical interns to vacate hospitals premises as it has been overtaken by events,” he added in the letter.