Mozambique: Striking doctors warn of total shutdown, accuse state of intimidation

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Mozambique: Striking doctors warn of total shutdown, accuse state of intimidation

8:58 CAT | 16 Aug 2023

FILE - For illustration purposes only. [File photo: Lusa]

The Mozambican medical association (AMM), which has been leading a strike since July, on Wednesday threatened to paralyse minimum assistance activities, accusing the government of intimidation and a lack of openness to dialogue.

“In view of our government’s stance on intimidation, its refusal to engage in dialogue and its failure to fulfil its commitments, we hereby inform you that the medical profession reserves the right to cancel its assignments (…). No doctor will return to work and the government will have to hire more than 1,500 doctors,” said the leader of the AMM, Milton Tatia, during a press conference in Maputo.

At issue is the position of the Cabinet on Tuesday, which considered that the main demands of the profession are not covered by the law, and did not rule out the possibility of dismissing doctors who insist on the protest, especially those in the specialisation and provisional appointment categories.

“Generally speaking, the doctors are complaining that they should be paid four times as much overtime as any other employee (…). Well, let’s face it, this is relatively strange and differentiating (…). It’s illegal, by the way,” government spokesman Inocêncio Impissa told the media after a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday in Maputo.

The AMM considers that the Mozambican executive’s position shows that there is no interest in resolving the problem, noting that the “nobility” of the work of the professionals justifies differentiated treatment.

“Our work is special and noble and that’s why we deserve special treatment. In fact, it should be remembered that for a long time doctors were the only university graduates to agree to work in the most remote districts and in the most deplorable conditions. We’re surprised that the same government that called us heroes yesterday now thinks we should be treated the same as other civil servants,” added Milton Tatia.

As well as threatening to paralyse minimum assistance in health units, the AMM is considering demanding full compliance with the initial list of demands, dated 28 October 2022, which included many more demands, according to the union.

“Instead of dialogue, our government has opted for intimidation. In fact, as you may have realised, last week we tried to hold a health fair here in the city of Maputo and it was interrupted by alleged orders from above. We were practically chased out of the place where we were holding the fair,” lamented Milton Tatia, adding that the fair was also prevented by the authorities in the provinces of Tete and Manica, in the centre of Mozambique.

Mozambican doctors have been on strike since 10 July, observing minimum services in health units, protesting above all against salary cuts, as part of the application of the new civil service salary scale, and lack of payment for overtime.

On Friday, the AMM will hold another general meeting in Maputo to decide whether to extend the strike, which has already been extended once.

At the beginning of the month, the Mozambican government said that doctors who missed work due to the ongoing strike would be held responsible, claiming that it had already solved most of the problems and announcing the hiring of new professionals.

The AMM, which considers that the problems persist, categorised the government’s position as intimidation and submitted a court injunction application to the Administrative Court.

The application of the new civil service salary scale is being strongly contested by various professional groups, with salary delays and cuts criticised by various segments of the Mozambican state apparatus.

READ: Mozambique: Government threatens to sack striking doctors

Source: Lusa