Cleaning staff strike may cause medical disaster in Gaza

The Ministry of Health in Gaza has warned that the ongoing strike by cleaning companies could lead to a serious health disaster in the Strip.

Health ministry spokesperson Ashraf Al-Qudra yesterday published on Facebook that the emergency department and all other departments in the European Gaza Hospital had become fertile grounds for microbes because of the buildup of medical waste and filth.

The cleaning companies announced a general strike for three days in all hospitals, centres and institutions of the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, which gravely threatens the operations of health services as a whole.

During previous strikes, more than 180 patients had to have their surgeries postponed.

Cleaning companies in the Strip called for industrial action following what they described as the national unity government’s denial of their financial dues, where they had not received their salaries for more than five months.

MEMO Photographer: Mohammed Asad