Medical workers in Entebbe have closed down the swine flu screening desk at Entebbe Airport demanding salary arrears for three months. The workers, who dropped their tools on August 31, want the government to clear all their allowances from June.

"We risked our lives to without protective gear but the government adamantly refuses to pay us," an infuriated nursing officer, who refused to reveal her identity to protect her job, told Daily Monitor.

The medical workers were receiving allowances between Shs30,000 to Shs60,000 daily. The government set up the desk to screen travellers coming to Uganda to prevent the entrance of the swine flu virus was raging some countries in the world.

The Director General of Health Services, Dr Sam Zaramba, said the closure of the screening desk by the medical workers is an act of indiscipline that should be punished. "The action will put the country at risk of the deadly influenza," he said.

He said that they are processing the allowances but those who planned the closure of the desk would be punished. "We had hopes of closing the desk scientifically. Closing the desk abruptly was a case of indiscipline," Dr Zaramba said.