Ministry of Health and auxiliary healthcare workers have formed an implementation committee to oversee compliance with the Ombudsman’s determination of 2008 to award hospital attendants, ward clerks and laundry assistants a salary increment.
The auxiliary healthcare staff downed tools last Tuesday in an attempt to force government to pay them K45 billion in accrued salary arrears.
The implementation committee comprises representatives from the Ministry of Health, auxiliary healthcare workers, Office of the Ombudsman, Department of Human Resource Management and Development and Treasury.
In an interview yesterday, leader of the auxiliary healthcare workers Balawala Vingula said so far, they are satisfied with the direction on the issue.
He said: “The meeting resolved that the Ministry of Health should act swiftly in implementing the directives of the determination of the Ombudsman.
“The meeting further resolved that the Ministry of Health should re-introduce risk allowance and top-up allowance for the auxiliary health workers.”
Vingula further said the committee will meet on or before October 18 to ascertain the total amount of salary arrears and the number of the health workers who are required to get paid.
In a separate interview yesterday, Ministry of Health Principal Secretary Samson Mndolo said they formed the implementation committee because of the complexity of the issue.
“Considering the complexity of the issue, we agreed to form the Ombudsman’s determination implementation committee, comprising the complainants and government officials.
“The committee will also look into all the finer details encompassing the matter,” he said.
In 2008, the Office of the Ombudsman conducted an inquiry following complaints that hospital attendants and ward clerks were removed from the list of beneficiaries for a 52 percent salary increment effected in December 2005.
But the Ministry of Health at the time stated that hospital attendants and ward clerks were not healthcare workers; hence, ineligible to the 52 percent increment meant for healthcare workers.
However, the Ombudsman’s determination resolved that hospital attendants and ward clerks are also healthcare workers as they are covered in the definition of a health worker in the Government Health Service Act of 2002.
The determination further found that the healthcare workers were denied increment ‘unfairly’ and ‘without jurisdiction’; hence, directed the ministry to within three months from the date of the determination to effect the increment.
For the past 19 years, government has failed to implement the order.
