NOTU protests government move to import Cuban doctors

Mr Peter Christopher Werikhe, the NOTU Secretary General addressing medics at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital last weekend.  PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER KISEKKA

What you need to know:

  • Mr Peter Christopher Werikhe, the NOTU Secretary General, said the country has enough number of medical specialists, but they are poorly remunerated, forcing some to join private practice or seeking greener pastures oversees.
  • The ultimatum of ninety days NOTU gave government to consider their salary proposal for public servants expires on June 23.
  • The workers’ top representatives noted that the position of medical workers and nurses union was that medical doctors will start with Shs5million and the enrolled nurse/midwives were due to earn Shs1million.
  • But Owere said even though medics requested for lunch allowances (Shs300,000), transport (Shs300,000) and housing (Shs500,000), this was left out in the recent pay rise announced by government.

The National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU) has added its voice to the growing chorus of bodies protesting government’s plan to recruit Cuban doctors, saying the move is uncalled for.
Mr Peter Christopher Werikhe, the NOTU Secretary General, said the country has enough number of medical specialists, but they are poorly remunerated, forcing some to join private practice or seeking greener pastures oversees.
“We have the specialists here with us, but the government has failed to motivate them. Instead they are bringing foreigners who will be marching away with fat salaries on top of fat allowances which they [government] have constantly denied countrymen, it is absurd,” Mr Werikhe said.

He made the remarks while meeting health workers at Masaka Regional Referral Hospital over the weekend.
Mr Werikhe added that if the government does not reconsider its decision, they will be tempted to mobilise other civil servants like teachers to lay down their tools so that government recruits foreigners across the board.
“If it is becoming a trend, we can tell workers like teachers to lay down their tools so that government brings Cubans too!” he added.

While appearing before the parliamentary committee on Health, Public Service minister Muruli Mukasa and the State minister for General Health Sarah Opendi last week said government has a plan of hiring 200 Cuban medical doctors. Mr Mukasa said the foreign doctors were being brought in to boost the few specialists, especially at upcountry stations shunned by local doctors.
He said government will pay each Cuban doctor about $1,500 (about Shs5.4m) per month, yet a local senior consultant doctor will get Shs4.5m per month.

Mr Wilson Usher Owere, NOTU chairman general, wondered why the government, which has constantly said that it does not have money to enhance salaries of medics and other civil servants is now recruiting Cubans.
“They [government] have even issued a statement indicating that they will not recruit new public servants and now they are recruiting Cubans, then who is fooling who?” Mr Owere wondered.
“Instead of recruiting Cuban doctors government should enhance salaries of civil servants across the board to motivate them and enable them deliver the required service,” he added.

The team from NOTU was at Masaka hospital to brief staff about their pending industrial action slated for June 23 if government doesn’t consider their proposal to enhance salaries of all civil servants across the board by 25 percent in the next five years.

According to a new salary structure proposed by NOTU, the least paid civil servants who currently earn Shs275, 200, should bag at least Shs1.3m by 2022 while the highly paid staff who earn Shs4.9m, should be able to take home at least Shs12.6m next financial year .This (Shs12.6m) will consequently raise to Shs23.5m by 2022 if government accepts to do salary enhancement in a phased manner as proposed by NOTU.

Owere said they are going to the use International Labour Day celebrations to be held in Sembabule on May 1 to mobilise workers to reject the selective salary enhancement for public servants recently announced by Secretary to Treasury Mr Keith Muhakanizi. He reiterated that the so called salary enhancement is discriminative and leaves out other workers, most especially those working with local governments.
“Government is giving workers a raw deal, what it is offering is not what we agreed on with them. Even if it means disorganizing the event [International Labour Day] in front of the president, we shall do it as long as it is in the interest of workers,” he said.

The workers’ top representatives noted that the position of medical workers and nurses union was that medical doctors will start with Shs5million and the enrolled nurse/midwives were due to earn Shs1million.
But Owere said even though medics requested for lunch allowances (Shs300,000), transport (Shs300,000) and housing (Shs500,000), this was left out in the recent pay rise announced by government.

In the newly-released pay rise, a senior medical officer/senior dental surgeon who was earning Shs1.3m will now earn Shs2.7m per month, while enrolled nurses currently earning Shs400,000 will now earn Shs600,000.
The workers’ body noted that in their agreement, the minimum a medical doctor is supposed to earn is shs5m while an enrolled nurse should earn Shs2.1m inclusive of allowances. The ultimatum of ninety days NOTU gave government to consider their salary proposal for public servants expires on June 23.