The medical Interns under their umbrella body, Federation for Uganda Medical Interns (FUMI) have declared a sit down strike over delayed and neglected implementation of presidential directive to increase medical interns’ pay.
Referring to the president’s directive issued on 9th August, Dr. Nabwire Mary Lilan, the FUMI president has petitioned the office of the prime minister to increase the number of medical interns starting in July, 2021 and also progress on the implementation of the directive.
Dr. Nabwire expressed disappointment about the conditions of internship training and gave a directive that medical interns are paid half of the recommended pay of the fully appointed officers in their respective professional cadres. That intern pharmacists and doctors get 2.5 million, then nurses and midwives get 2.4 million starting from July 2021.
However, this implementation has not yet yielded any achievement as the medical interns are still receiving their normal payments.
“To date there has been no response from the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development to the implementation of this directive. Medical Interns received Shs 750,000 as their monthly pay for the months of July and August. Furthermore, we have reliably been informed that Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development released the usual amount for this new quarter and the Ministry of Health plans to pay Shs 940,000 gross pay, (750,000 UGX net pay) to the medical interns for the month of September as this is what they received from the Ministry of Finance,” the letter reads.
The letter expresses solidarity of the interns to President Museveni’s commitment to increase their salaries. And the interns are willing to categorically distance themselves from any institution or and any individual who seems to slow down the government’s program.
The president’s lack of official communication from the Ministry of Finance regarding the implementation of the directive has not only limited the medical interns’ choices but has also cultivated untold demotivation and doubt among them countrywide
“Dear Hon. Minister of Finance, medical interns are a valuable asset and are critical to the Ugandan health system, as we are very dedicated to offering health services to our patients 24/7 and it’s only appropriate that issues concerning our welfare should be addressed with the much needed attention and urgency and the president’s directive respected,” the letter notifies.
“In light of all the above, medical interns nationwide regret to inform you that we will be laying down our tools with effect from 6th November, 2021 and stay home until the president’s directive is respected and implemented,” the letter emphasizes.
