Cabinet has established a special committee to engage doctors with a view of persuading them to end the industrial action that started last week.
The decision followed a briefing to the cabinet by Health Minister Jane Ruth Aceng on a nationwide strike that has paralyzed medical services in public hospitals across the country.
The strike organized by Uganda Medical Workers Association (UMA) started last week as medical workers expressed disgust as government’s failure to enhance their salaries and improve their working conditions.
The Doctors are demanding that the government enhances their allowances including overtime, housing, transport and medical risk among others. They are seeking an increase in the salary of medical interns from 960,000 Shillings to 8.5 million Shillings.
They also demand that medical assistant and teaching assistants should be facilitated to earn up to 15 million Shillings, get a two-bedroom house and a 2.5cc vehicle.
They want the government to pay a senior Consultant Doctor or professor 48 million Shillings including allowances; provide him with a five-bedroom house, 4.0cc vehicle and three domestic workers. Currently, a senior consultant doctor earns about 3.4 million Shillings, consultants earn 2.6 million Shillings, and a Medical Officer earns 1.1 million Shillings.
The doctors also want salaries for nurses and midwives enhanced to about 6.5 million Shillings besides providing them with a three-bedroomed house, 2.0cc vehicle and one domestic worker.
