The Ministry sees no reason for a strike by health workers in Mozambique

The Ministry of Health (Missau) of Mozambique said this Monday that there is “no reason” to renew the strike of health workers, but guaranteed that it will “ensure the continuity of the provision of health services to the population.”

“Misau understands that there is no basis for calling the above-mentioned strike and reiterates that dialogue must remain the way to resolve problems in the health sector,” the statement announcing the strike said.

Health workers in Mozambique have announced they will resume their strike starting Monday to demand better working conditions in the sector, saying they will not succumb to new government proposals to suspend it.

“This time we are going to go on strike. Promises are not being kept,” Anselmo Mujave, president of the Association of United and Solidarity Medical Workers of Mozambique (APSUSM), told Luse, mentioning possible proposals from the Mozambican executive. suspension of the strike.

According to APSUSM, the strike by employees and health officials will last 30 days, with the possibility of extension.

“Misau hopes that professionalism, the spirit of dialogue and love for others will prevail. However, in the event of a shutdown, Misau will ensure the continuity of health services to the population,” the ministry said in its response.

He also recalls that this strike “represents the same content” in terms of the demands put forward by this association on March 25, 2024.

“Two days later, on March 27, 2024, APSUSM issued a statement calling off the strike in recognition of the extent to which the government had met its demands. The negotiation process with professional healthcare associations was led by the Intersectoral Commission created by the Government and is solving the problems that have arisen,” Misau emphasizes.

He adds that “a new request” submitted by this association is currently “being discussed” for Misau to provide a monthly deduction of 1% of salary to all health workers (except doctors and dentists) to pay the fees, which will be transferred to the APSUSM bank account “

“Misau understands that any discount on an employee’s salary, in excess of that provided for by current legislation, requires the consent of the employee upon presentation of a notarized application,” he also notes.

The resumption of the strike by these professionals was scheduled for March 28, but was suspended the day before after negotiations with the Mozambican government culminated in the implementation of some points of demand, including the classification of health professionals. , monitoring visits to hospital departments and eliminating irregularities in the payment of subsidies, APSUSM reported at the time.

Nearly 30 days after the strike was suspended, Mozambican health workers once again complained of non-compliance with government demands and a failure to conduct monitoring visits to agreements between the parties, saying hospitals were “worse than when the dialogue began.” “.

“When we went on strike, we loudly declared that our health centers were seriously suffering from a shortage of surgical and hospital medical supplies and medicines. The government has committed itself to turning this situation around, but unfortunately our health centers are in a worse situation than before. the beginning of our dialogue,” says the association’s document about this new strike.

The talks were ongoing in 2023 between the Mozambican government and APSUSM, an association representing some 65,000 professionals that went on strike between August and November 2023 to improve working conditions in the public sector.

They complain of shortages of medicines, hospital beds and ambulances, and disposable personal protective equipment, which “forces staff to buy them out of their own pockets.”