By Yang Ater Yang
Staff at Rumbek State Hospital have laid down their tools, demanding payment of four months’ worth of incentives owed by UNICEF, a health partner.
Monica Yar, a registered midwife at the hospital said “we have gone on strike because we have not received our incentives for almost four months.”
“Before UNICEF took over in July, the health pool fund paid us monthly, but now we are facing numerous challenges and delays,” she added.
Yar further elaborated that they were only given the incentive for July, which was paid in September.
“I have children at home who need food. We came here to work to feed our families. If we go to work and return home empty-handed, our children will suffer,” she said.
As the holiday season approaches, she highlighted they are going through emotional strain.
“With Christmas coming, children want new clothes and gifts. When we tell them we have nothing to give, they ask us why we go to work if we don’t have anything. These are difficult questions we face from our kids,” she said.
She continued, “when we leave for work in the morning, they ask, ‘Where are you going, Mom? When will we eat? When will we get our clothes?’ Many of our children are studying, and we haven’t been able to pay their school fees. They can’t even receive their results because of the delays in our incentives.”
“We are human beings who need food for ourselves. We cannot serve the community if the community is not supporting us. Therefore, we demand the payment of four months’ incentives. If not, I personally will not return to work, and neither will many of my colleagues. That’s why we closed the hospital—it’s due to the delay in our incentives.”
Dr. Teran Madit Teran, the hospital’s administrator, explained the situation.
“Yesterday afternoon, we noticed unusual activities among the staff, leading to an unorganized strike. We immediately convened an emergency meeting with department heads to understand the issues at hand,” he said.
“It’s clear there has been a problem for a while, primarily related to unpaid incentives. The staff are demanding four months of incentives, as they have only received the payment for July, which they got in September,” he added.
Dr. Teran noted the situation is serious stating that it turned serious when most staff, including nurses and midwives, laid down their tools.
“While we respect their right to strike, in a health setting, there are rules and regulations. We need to ensure emergency cases are handled properly.”
James Salah Makoi, another registered midwife at the hospital, echoed the situation has not been easy for the entire hospital staff.
“It is now a peaceful strike where all medical personnel are asking for their four months of incentives. We are approaching five months without payment, and until we receive our incentives, the hospital remains closed.”