Moroccan resident doctors to stage one-day warning strike on March 13

The National Committee of Resident Doctors in Morocco has called for a one-day warning strike on March 13th, in a statement issued on Wednesday.

Emergency departments, intensive care units, and resuscitation units will be exempt from the strike.

The statement said that the strike comes after the Committee’s attempts to initiate dialogue with the Ministries of Health and Higher Education failed. 

The National Committee said that it did not receive any response to their calls for dialogue sent to the ministries on January 26 and February 19, respectively.

The committee’s list of demands, submitted to the ministries on February 23, also went unanswered, according to the statement.

The National Committee said that the disregard for the demands of resident doctors, who are the backbone of university hospitals in Morocco, is what prompted the Committee’s general assembly to vote overwhelmingly for the strike.

The Committee warned that further actions would follow if the ministries continue their current approach.

The committee’s announcement follows clashes between health workers and authorities on Wednesday during a protest at the Ministry of Health. Intervening authorities ultimately dispersed the demonstration.

The demonstration followed the National Health Union’s announcement of a two-day national strike, beginning on Wednesday and lasting until today. The strike is a response to what the unions claim is the government’s failure to address their demands.

These strikes are part of general discontent that Morocco’s health sector has been grappling with since December 2023, with the protests of  medical students taking center stage.

The students objected to the Ministry’s decision to shorten their studies from seven to six years, raising concerns about their legal status, compensation, and workload during hospital training.

The discontent quickly spread beyond medical students, with nursing professionals joining the protests. They expressed dissatisfaction with the Ministry’s contracting policy.

They demanded fair compensation, including salary increases and better recognition for their work, highlighting the lack of proper balance for their training and night shifts.