Mozambique’s health ministry has given in to health professionals demands for fair wages and improvement of their working conditions.
Last Thursday, the Association of Mozambican Health Professionals (APSUSM) called a nationwide strike involving its members demanding improved working conditions and fair pay. Over four days, nurses, lab technicians, among others, heed the call and as a result, hospitals throughout the country were understaffed, and there were severe delays in care provision and some medical and surgical procedures had to be cancelled.
APSUSM told a press conference on Sunday that it had decided to suspend the strike, initially called to last 25 days, after reaching an agreement with the Ministry of Health (MISAU) to address its demands. however, the suspension is temporary: APSUSM says it is to last 15 days in order to “o make way for the ongoing negotiations and not to further endanger the health of Mozambicans.”
Consequently, since the issue of wages is beyond the ministry’s purview, APSUSM and MISAU will meet with a technical commission, set up to correct the anomalies found during the implementation of the Single Wage Scale (TSU) for civil servants, in order to discuss the wages of the health professionals.
Comment
At first blush, it is strange that the health minister left the health professionals’ demands to come to a boil. Why could he not foresee the dangers poised by his non-negotiating stance? Health Minister Armindo Tiago had ample warning from the health professionals but chose not to act.
Perhaps Tiago thought the threats would fizzle out like it happened to an earlier strike by doctors who were also demanding improved wages. It was only after the strike entered its fourth day, and the chaotic impact on the national health service became visible, that he decided on meeting the strikers.
Tiago’s stance must be seen within a particular Mozambican context: since independence in 1975, the successive Frelimo governments have responded with disdain to strikes, and on several occasions used police force to subdue the strikers.
But one cannot subdue strikers who stay at home. The only option he had was to threaten them with disciplinary measures. However, this does not seem to have worked with the health professionals, who are the backbone of the health system, especially when they number around 55,000 – indeed, one of the measures taken by Tiago is that the health professionals will not be slapped with disciplinary measures owing to their absence from work in the four days.
Furthermore, the government would rather head into the elections in 2023 (municipal) and 2024 (general) with the health professionals happy rather than angry – usual the ruling Frelimo party uses civil servants to campaign in the run-up to elections.
It remains to be seen what if any the meeting with the TSU commission will resolve the issue of wages and subsidies – the implementation of TSU has been shambolic. However, the health professionals can always resort to resume the strike within 15 days should government not meet their demands.
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