The striking staff say the recent transfers, ordered by the Governor’s Office last week, were done without transparency or consultation. The directive reportedly affected 27 health workers who were reassigned from Bor State Hospital to various primary healthcare centres in the counties.
Jacob Madit, one of the protesting staff, said the Ministry of Health surprised them with transfer letters without prior consultation, claiming the transfers were based on alleged incompetence.
“Why are we transferred to the counties if we are not qualified? If we are not qualified, does that mean we can go and contaminate our people in the county health facilities?”
Madit asked. “You cannot be a pharmacist without a certificate in that field, and you cannot be a lab technician if you are not qualified for that position.”
He added that the workers had submitted a petition to the office of the Director General and copied it to relevant ministries, including the Office of the Governor.
“We are just waiting for their response,” Madit said. “We don’t intend to prolong this strike, but if the government does not respond, we will remain on strike until the issue is resolved. We are calling on them to intervene and address the matter.”
Another clinical officer, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal, said the deployment process lacked fairness and clear communication.
“We are not against deployment, but the way it was done is not fair. There was no clear communication or criteria used in the transfers,” the officer said.
Dr. Phillip Majok, the Medical Director at Bor State Hospital, confirmed that the strike has severely disrupted hospital operations, with several departments forced to scale down or temporarily close.
“This group is a very small number, mostly non-clinical staff, but they are punishing the population. As medical personnel, the last thing you should do is deny health services to the sick,” Dr. Majok said.
He noted that the disruption has already led to tragic incidents.
“Today I got a call from Juba about a woman referred there, and the mother reported that her child died in the womb. Some patients are dying, and women are giving birth at the hospital gate. We don’t even know how many have been affected,” he said.
Dr. Majok further revealed that the striking staff had rejected his attempts to hold meetings, saying that disciplinary measures may be taken if they refuse dialogue.
“They have refused to sit down with me and even locked my office. We are waiting for them to calm down and accept dialogue; otherwise, we will proceed with other measures underway,” he said.
Bor State Hospital is the main referral facility in Jonglei State, serving thousands of residents from Bor and neighbouring counties. The ongoing strike has raised fears of a worsening healthcare crisis if the dispute is not resolved soon.
