Morocco: Doctors go on strike

Doctors working in government hospitals in Morocco went on a 48-hour strike, Tuesday, demanding that the government improve their working conditions and increase their salaries, according to a labour union leader.

The strike, which includes all governmental hospitals in the Kingdom, except for emergency and recovery departments, followed a series of protests and strikes that have started since September 2017.

“This 48-hour strike which started on Tuesday morning (except for emergency departments) comes in response to the government’s disregard for the demands of the striking doctors, especially the improvement of the financial and working conditions,” said Al-Montadhar Al-Alawi, Secretary-General of the Independent Union of Public Sector Doctors in Morocco.

In a statement to Anadolu news agency, Al-Alawi called on his country’s Prime Minister, Saadeddine Othmani, to “announce a clear and official position on the legitimate demands of the striking doctors.”

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He stressed that the Union would step up its protests by organizing a 48-hour strike on 18 and 19 July, in addition to an anger week between 2 and 6 July.

Al-Alawi held the government responsible for “any possible future escalation that the government health sector may face.”

During the meeting of the Government Council about a month ago, Moroccan Health Minister Anas Dalkali gave a presentation on the health plan of the year 2025, which included a special focus on finding solutions to shortage of human resources through hiring an additional number of doctors.

The minister pledged to find solutions to some health sector problems, without providing further details.

Public sector doctors in Morocco receive monthly salaries of around 7,000 dirhams ($ 700), compared to high salaries of their private sector counterparts.