Striking Moz docs 'will have their pay cut'
2013-01-07 13:37
Maputo - Mozambican doctors launched a strike on Monday over
pay and working conditions after talks broke down with the government, the
country's doctors association said.
Union leaders said the initial action was for five days, but
it would continue beyond that if they had reached no agreement.
The health ministry however warned that the law did not
allow such an action and that striking doctors would have their pay docked.
"We're on strike for five extendable days until the
government meets our demands," said association head Jorge Arroz.
"The strike is the ultimate tool by which the doctors
can be better served, though we ensure that emergency services are functioning.
There will be no manifestation in the streets. We shall stay in our
houses," he told AFP.
The health ministry has already warned that the law in
Mozambique does not allow essential public service workers to go on strike. The
stoppage was also illegal because the association could not act as a union,
authorities said. The country does not have a medical workers' union.
Spokesperson Mouzinho Saide told reporters on Monday that
striking doctors would have their wages cut for every day they failed to work.
Last month, local media reported that doctors were demanding
a basic wage of 90 000 meticals ($3 000) while the government was offering
between 20 000 and 38 000 meticals.
Mozambique has a total of 1 200 doctors in both public and
private practice countrywide, with a ratio of one doctor to 22 000 Mozambicans.
