Why govt threats can’t kill strikes.

KAMPALA, UGANDA: From 2013 to date, the government has threatened, struggled, and failed to put down almost 10 recurring strike actions sanctioned by different associations and unions of medical workers, teachers, and judicial officers.

Between 2013 and 2021, the Uganda National Teachers Union (UNATU) sanctioned four industrial actions; the Uganda Judicial Officers Association sanctioned two between 2017 and 2019 while the Uganda Medical Association approved three industrial actions between 2017 and 2022.

In February 2021, academic staff at all public universities across the country laid down their tools. They demanded a salary enhancement and payment of arrears amounting to Shs 129.24bn.

In November 2021, doctors and medical interns went on strike. They demanded a pay raise, health insurance, and provision of medical supplies including personal protective equipment (PPE). In May 2022, just before the start of the second term for primary and secondary students, science teachers walked off their jobs protesting government’s failure to increase their salaries as promised by President Museveni.

In July 2017, judicial officers walked off their jobs demanding a pay raise to match the perks of their counterparts in other government departments and agencies. They also demanded official vehicles, medical insurance, housing, and security.

The government responses have always been swift and bullish. Ultimatums have followed a familiar script. “Get back to work, or risk getting the sack,” government officials and politicians have always huffed and puffed only to walk back on their threats when the striking workers refuse to buckle under pressure.

During the last intern doctors’ strike in December 2021, the director general of Health Services, Dr. Henry Mwebesa ordered the interns to vacate the hospital premises within a week to allow other junior interns to replace them.

But the medical fraternity put up a united front. The junior interns refused to take the places of their striking colleagues. Other senior medics threatened to join the strike in solidarity with the threatened interns. Boxed in a corner, Dr Mwebesa withdrew his statement and the government promised to increase the interns’ wages.

When the nurses walked off their jobs last week, a bullish Prime Minister Robinah Nabbanja dangled a bold threat. She directed resident district commissioners to register all striking nurses and allied health professionals. She ordered that they should be replaced within 24 hours of her proclamation.

She said, “I have been informed that nurses want to strike. I am using the powers bestowed upon me by the president as the prime minister that whoever strikes, does so at their own peril because there are very many volunteers in medical facilities. When you strike, you shall find your vacancy occupied by another person. You should stop keeping government on tension (sic).”

She ranted some more; “We have even increased their salaries. Are you people aware that the lowest cadre, a cleaner, shall be earning Shs 500,000? Other medical workers at the diploma level are earning in the range of Shs 2,000,000. Doctors are earning above five million shillings and then they strike? When you strike, others shall come and take your jobs. With effect from tomorrow [May 27], after 24 hours, I have instructed the resident district commissioners to register all striking medical workers and the District Public Service Commissions shall then recruit new medical workers. We are tired of working under tension. The government cannot go on kneeling every time.”

In an earlier interview with The Observer, the former president of the Uganda Medical Association Dr Obuku Ekwaro opined that government cannot shake off industrial actions if it does not find lasting solutions to the decades-long challenges plaguing the medical system. Industrial actions, he said then, were proof of the disorganization within the labour workforce.

“Industrial actions are prevalent in areas where there are labour disputes. When industrial actions happen, there’s disruption in the provision of medical services. This attracts the wrath of the state on the striking medics, which forces them to leave the health system for other areas,” he said.

Ekwaro lashed out at the government for declining to approve the establishment of a union for medical workers, which he said, can help in negotiations. “Strikes will continue to happen because the labour force is disorganized. We strike to negotiate yet striking should have been the last avenue after negotiations fail,” Ekwaro said.

Interviewed for this story, Filbert Baguma, the secretary general of the Uganda National Teachers’ Union, said teachers’ strikes and other education service providers can only end if the government showed a firm commitment to solving the poor remuneration of teachers.

“Government should act with the highest level of integrity when solving our payment challenges. If government says there’s no money but some people are living lavishly, then there’s a problem somewhere. It means you are deliberately denying us our fair cut of what we deserve,” he said.

He suggested that government should establish a board that looks into the salaries of all civil servants and harmonizes them. “We need a harmonized salary structure that takes into consideration the interests of both the low-income earners and those that earn the highest. This should apply to everyone across the divide. The board should then sit down and deliberately increase the salaries of those who earn the least, gradually to a more deserving pay proportional with their work output,” Baguma said.

Workers MP Abdulhu Byakatonda said the government should come up with a prompt, efficient and effective negotiation machinery so that workers know what is applicable and not. He said the recommendation was made in 2008.

“For the government to properly tackle the issue of industrial action among its workers, we need a robust negotiation machinery and proper communication channels because government intimidation of workers is not a solution. According to international minimum standards, workers are entitled to good welfare and a collective bargaining agreement,” he said.

Since Uganda is a member of the International Labour Organization, it is bound to adhere to the Public Service Negotiating, Consultative, and Disputes Settlement Machinery, he said.

“Under this machinery, Uganda is supposed to have a mechanism of negotiations. Every ministry, government department, and agency is supposed to form consultative committees, which are supposed to negotiate salaries for workers for onward transmission to the cabinet by the minister of public service. Such an arrangement has never been put in force by government…,” Byakatonda said.

Interviewed for a comment about the allied health professionals and nurses’ strike, Dr Samuel Oledo, the Uganda Medical Association president, said doctors decided to steer clear of industrial action to give the government the benefit of the doubt. Oledo said they were waiting for the collective bargaining agreement where the government accepted to increase salaries.

“You know this is a terrible moment for everyone. The country is suffering from economic persecution and all these things. Everyone is trying to survive and we are the only hope for our patients. Patients in hospitals right now have stress-related conditions while the rest are traumatized. Accidents are becoming rampant at such a time because everyone is struggling to make ends meet. There are great chances we are going to lose many people and we wouldn’t choose a strike over that,” he said.

“Much as we stand with the allied health professionals in their demands, we are saying for the sake of Ugandans, we can’t go for industrial action at such a time. Our motivation is currently induced by humanity at such a time. Besides, Covid-19 is still aggressive. We have so far lost four patients. You cannot choose to call for industrial action at such a time”.

Oledo added, “What the allied health professionals are demanding is what we bargained for in the collective bargaining agreement; we never bargained for just ourselves. Doctors are heads in the medical profession; so, what we did last year was to lobby for everyone. It is very dangerous to throw patients under the bus at a time when you know the money is going to be increased.”