Uganda: Nurses give govt. a deadline of 90 days to meet their demands for a daily lunch

Nurses under the Uganda Nurses and Midwives Union (UNMU), have given the government December 30 as the deadline to meet their demands for a daily lunch allowance of Shs15,000 which was promised to them over a year ago, according to a news report by Daily Monitor.

Their message is contained in an October 1 letter to the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Public Service, signed by the UNMU National President, Justus Cherop Kiplangat.

"Notice is hereby given that all nurses and midwives shall go on an indefinite industrial action effective December 30 in furtherance of a labor dispute," the letter reads in part.

The grounds for the said industrial action, the letter further states, includes an Shs1b presidential pledge to the nurses' Sacco during celebrations to mark the International Nurses Day on May 1, 2018, in Kitgum district.

The letter also lists an Shs15,000 lunch allowance to the nurses by President Museveni during the same celebrations held last year at Kyamate Secondary School playground in Ntungamo municipality.

Stephen Amukun, the Jinja district UNMU Chairperson, on Tuesday said the Shs2,000 they have been receiving per day for lunch since 1999 is not enough to buy a decent meal.