Attorney General, William Byaruhanga also told the leadership of UMA that the mandate to negotiate with government lies with trade unions as provided for in the 2008 Labour Union Act.
“We have just come here to address you, we can talk to you as an association but we cannot negotiate with you. You should know that. This is information that you need to know” Byaruhanga said.
Adding that, “Government will adopt plan B if you fail to return to work. Our priority is the patients who have not been attended to. We request you to return to work.”
However, this infuriated the doctors, escalating the already tense mood in the room. The doctors told the six cabinet ministers present including David Bahati (state minister for planning), John Chrysostom Muyingo (minister of state for higher education), Mwesigwa Rukutana (deputy Attorney General) that without addressing their concerns and issuing more threats of moving to “plan B” they had simply wasted their time.
UMA president Dr Ekwaro Obuku said if government is ready to move to “plan B” the doctors are determined and ready to move to “plan C”. Obuku said government was “being unserious” about the entire situation and was not caring about the patients who are losing lives because of lack of medical care.
Minister Bahati had called on the doctors to be patient with government for at least another two weeks and call off the strike as they they institute a salary review commission to harmonise all civil servants’ salaries. It is over a month since the prosecutors laid down their tools in protest against poor pay.
The doctors however demanded written commitment from government, saying they always make promises that they don’t keep. Workers MP Sam Lyomoki said he had never before met six “powerless” ministers who wasted time doctors’ time by calling for a dialogue yet they had no solution.
Bahati said government can’t commit itself on a recurrent expenditure without first identifying the source of the money. Deputy Attorney General, Mwesigwa Rukutana told the striking intern doctors that they can’t call themselves doctors and can’t demand salaries. He explained that what interns are paid is an appreciation, which can’t be termed as an allowance.
Rukutana asked the intern doctors to drop their demands and return to work. Doctors laid down their tools on Monday last week following protracted negotiations with government to give them a pay rise and improve their welfare in vain.
They vowed not to resume work until government addresses their concerns. The doctors want government to increase the salary of medical interns from Shs 960,000 to Shs 8.5 million.
They also medical and teaching assistants to earn Shs 15 million, get a two-bedroom house and a 2.5cc vehicle. They also want government to pay a senior consultant doctor or professor Shs 48 million including allowances; provide him a five-bedroom house, 4.0cc vehicle and three domestic workers.
Currently, a senior consultant doctor earns about Shs 3.4 million, consultant Shs 2.6 million, and a medical officer Shs 1.1 million. The doctors also want salaries for nurses and midwives enhanced to about Shs 6.5 million besides providing them a three-bedroomed house, 2.0cc vehicle and one domestic worker.