Strike of physicians: the Healthcare ministry overwhelmed by tensions

In face of the hardening spread of the physicians’ strike, the ministry in charge of Healthcare finally reacted in order to ease tensions. The transitional is not opposed to the claims, but calling for reprieve for the issue’s settlement. Secretary Ahmad Ahmad reported that the Public Service’s Supreme Council would have already approved on allowances claimed by the striking physicians. Demands were also concerning risks, and particularly insane working conditions. A decree project would still be on its way. It will be proposed during a cabinet meeting, and be debated with the minister in charge of Public Service, as well as the Treasury secretary. 

Subsequent demands are concerning the index grid. Mr. Ahmad made public that a rise would be assessed by the ministry in charge of Public Service. The Secretary from the ministry for Healthcare appeared conciliatory with the strikers. “The claims are fully justified since wages are very low compared to the completed work “, he conceded. At the time of the enrolment, a physician with a doctorate, that is to say after 8 or 9 years of studies in a special field, is earning the same amount as an army corporal, military of career and holder of a secondary level’s degree, or 300 000 ariary. The comparison is now outdated due to the salary demands resumption caused by the HAT led wage surge in order to boost troops’ moral. 

Physicians are requiring quite a lot of things: a decent wage matching their expertise, as well as a particular statute. The union and the strike movement are bound to entrench their position until the capitalization of their expectations. “The particular statute granted to magistrates was not a matter of days”, moderated SG Ahmad. Therefore, he insisted on the fact that physicians had to resume their job, now that the administration is, allegedly, already doing what it takes to reach such an end, and that proceedings might take some more time again. “The physician’s duty is to welcome, take care and assist”, he recalled. 

The physicians’ strike movement started by the beginning of the year with the weekend extension issue: weekends were meant to be extended to Monday, and progressively to one additional day week after week. One month later, the situation became critical in public hospitals. Physicians failed to provide the very basic services, and only treated the emergency cases. Consultations are judged less urgent, and subsequently postponed. Patients and their families grumbled. The ministry in charge of healthcare got engulfed in embarrassment. “The ministry is like a parent shared between both of its children; on one hand, physicians are suffering from their situation, and on the other hand, so do patients from their pain”, argued SG Ahmad with philosophy in order to restore the pressure to resume their duty towards patients on physicians 

However, the authorities have well tried to insert the political poison in the physicians’ strike for believing it to be a burden for the transitional ride. “Dividing to reign” was the strategy adopted to force the paramedical practitioners from the physicians’ movement.  The civil servants’ trade union came, therefore, to the rescue, for clearly intending to take advantage from the struggle between doctors and the government. Many civil servants actually got a nasty surprise when meeting their pay check of January 2010. Instead of the +10% announced with ceremony by the president of the HAT, they got a minus10%! Salary claims might ruin a beautiful picture. The minister in charge of public service has been repeating time and time again that the genuine solution would be the enhancement of the civil servants’ general statute, and not the compliance with each and everyone’s claims. Until here, only the soldiers have been satisfied by the HAT.