Doctors get 15% emergency call allowance
Larona Makhaiza | Monday April 10, 2023 06:00
A joint statement from BDU, Botswana Government Workers Union (BOGOWU) and Trainers and Allied Workers Union (TAWU) has revealed that the government have successfully concluded an agreement on doctors emergency call allowance with the unions.
According to the statement, the negotiations were held in an atmosphere of transparency, mutual respect and good faith with all the parties keenly interested in arriving at an agreement. Now there will be 15% Doctors Emergency call allowance effective September 2022. Doctors’ Emergency call allowance arrears will also be paid in May 2023.
The unions and the government have also agreed to revert back to the situation that prevailed before April 1 2023 with respect to Doctors Emergency call and doctors would resume emergency call duties with immediate effect. “Acceptance of 15% Doctors Emergency call allowance on condition that on or before July 31, 2023 the parties should have met and concluded a review on the following; Doctors Emergency call policy; Doctors Emergency call duty Contract; and Doctors Emergency call duty Roster/Schedule for rest days at health facilities,” further read the statement.
The resolution comes shortly after BDU’s decision to down tools and they warned the nation and its employer to expect disruptions to government hospitals and clinics countrywide. BDU then outlined that the issue that led to the non-conclusion of the negotiations is government's unwillingness to remunerate medical and dental officers for hours worked during emergency-call duty. Before the parties involved reached an agreement on Wednesday, Botswana Nurses Union (BONU) came out and extended a solidarity hand to the BDU on its quest to get remunerated for hours worked during emergency-call duty. BONU said BONU shares the similar sentiments with the BDU that for them to return to the emergency-call duty hours that they normally partake in, DPSM will have to include medical and dental hours of emergency call duty in the negotiations.
Both BDU and BONU believe that the emergency-call duty hours that DPSM are so hell bent against are part of the overtime, therefore they should be paid for those hours. Furthermore, BONU says the nurses, midwives and all other health workers have always been taken advantage of by their employers. “It is also common cause that nurses, midwives, medical and dental officers and other health care workers are subjected to these horrible working conditions while attending to emergency-call to duty. Others are not transported to duty at night while staying far from the health facilities thus jeopardising their security,” added BONU.