Medical interns plan to go on strike at midnight

Medical interns in government hospitals and facilities will today meet to decide whether to go on strike today at midnight or hold on.

Their industrial action, if effected, will follow that of doctors that has been raging on for the last two weeks.

According to a communication seen by The Nile Post and  signed by Robert Lubega, the president of medical interns (2017-2018), before the action, they will hold a meeting at Galloway hostel in Mulago hospital complex.

Lubega said that many interns in various hospitals had voted in favour of the strike but similarly a sizeable number were opposed to it.

For instance at Mulago hospital all the 56 interns voted for the strike while in Lira all the 11 interns are opposed to the strike.

At Soroti hospital all the 46 interns are against the strike while at Jinja hospital all the 10 interns are in support of the strike.

In the end 52.4% of interns voted in favour of the strike while 47.53% were against it.

Last week the interns set Shs 2.5 million as the bare minimum non-negotiable salary that must be deposited on their accounts before they call off plans for the strike.

Lubega said last week that the  interns "are tired of working under poor conditions.

In the same week, the Health minister, Ruth Aceng, asked interns to call off the strike or lose their internship placements.