Medical workers at Malakal Teaching Hospital in Upper Nile State started an open-ended strike Monday to push the government to meet their grievances, which include allowances.
Dr. Kat Deng Ayii, the Medical Director of Malakal Teaching Hospital, told Radio Tamazuj that nurses, doctors, specialists, and support staff have staged an open-ended strike because they have not received their three months’ allowances.
According to Dr. Deng, the striking medical workers have given the National Ministry of Health, UNICEF, and the Upper Nile State government 72 hours to respond to their demands.
He explained, “All the medical staff started their strike over unpaid allowances, and the workers are waiting for the government’s response. The staff have been unpaid their allowances for about three months, which is the main reason for the strike.”
The medical director emphasized that the hospital has formed dedicated emergency teams to attend to critical cases despite the strike. “We have different teams formed to handle emergency cases for three days, and this strike is open. But we are waiting for the government to respond to the demands of the medical workers,” he reassured.
“After three days and we don’t get any response, I am sure the emergency teams will not be able to continue working. So, the role of the government is vital to finding a solution. If there is no response, the hospital might enter into a more critical situation,” he added, underlining the urgency of the matter.
For his part, Dr Bieny Ernest, the State Minister of Health, described the strike over unpaid allowances as illegal. He called on the striking medical staff to call off the strike and continue providing medical and health services to citizens.
“We have tried to investigate the reasons that led to the strike, and after investigations, we were told that the medical staff went on strike due to paid allowances by the organizations that work with the hospital as part of the World Bank program. We asked them to go back to their work,” he said.
“As a government, we received no petition for the reasons that led to the strike. We were expecting the medical staff to present their complaints to the government first,” he added.
He appealed to the striking medical staff to resume working usually, emphasizing the value of their work in providing essential medical services to the citizens.