Nurses and Midwives in Uganda have called off their industrial action following successful negotiations with government.
The Ministry of Finance has committed Shs44.9billion to cater for lunch allowances at Shs10,000 in the next financial year.
“As a follow up on the Strike of Nurses and Midwives, the above meeting was convened to agree on the modality of fulfilling the Presidential Pledge to provide the lunch allowance for the nurses and midwives,” a statement by the Ministries of Health and Finance states.
It adds, “In this meeting the importance of the health workers was recognized and commended in the fight against COVID-19 and health service delivery for all Ugandans. Government explained to the health workers that to date, this pledge has not been fulfilled due to resource constraints.
The Ministry of Public Service submitted the requirement of Shs.129bn to provide lunch to all health workers at a rate of Shs. 15,000 per day for 22 days as pledged by the President.
Government is to mobilize this money in the context of the budget that is currently being discussed and appropriated in Parliament.