Rabat – Healthcare unions are set to resume protests amid uncertainty about the timing of the implementation of wage increase measures agreed between the Health Ministry and the unions representing nurses and health technicians.
The unions are concerned about the fate of an agreement signed with the government on wage increases, reports have indicated.
The initial deal between the unions and Morocco’s Ministry of Health agreed on an increase of MAD 1500 for nurses and health technicians and an increase of MAD 1200 for all administrators.
Notably, the Ministry of Economy decided that the disbursement schedule for the increases in two installments will take place starting from January 2025 and January 2026.
According to SNRTNews, the healthcare unions had demanded that the disbursement start from January 2024 and January 2025 instead.
The ministry representatives agreed on the unions’ condition but the increases have not been released as of now.
Habib Karoum, a member of the Democratic Health Organization said that the health ministry requested a deadline of no more than a month for the unions to receive a response from the government.
The unions have sti not received any response, prompting calls for nationwide strikes in all hospitals, excluding emergency and resuscitation departments.
The strikes are expected to take place on February 28-29 as an initial step to draw the government’s attention to address the remaining points.
The unions are also complaining about pending demands, including a general increase in fixed salaries for all healthcare sector employees and clarifications regarding healthcare workers.
The concerns come amid an already fragile situation in the health sector.
Medical students have been striking for several months, condemning the government’s decision to shorten the duration of medical studies from seven to six years.
The strikes included boycotting classes, training, and exams, with the protesting students citing ongoing grievances concerning the quality of education and clinical training.
Morocco’s government acknowledged this week that the dialogue to address this situation has been deadlocked over divergences regarding the duration of medical training.
With protesting students sounding determined to oppose any reform of training duration, the government said this week that the decision to reduce the study years is “irreversible.”
“We bear responsibility for this situation because we cannot accept in any way to discuss some matters that fall within the strategic and sovereign decisions of the state,” Minister of Higher Education Abdellatif Miraoui said.
