Morocco’s nursing staff declares 72-hour nationwide strike over government inaction

The healthcare sector in Morocco remains in a state of turmoil, with nursing professionals escalating their actions by extending the nationwide strike period from 48 hours to 72 hours, in response to “the government’s silence and evasion policy.”

In an official statement, the Independent Nurses Union declared, “a 72-hour national strike on March 26, 27, and 28, 2024, except for emergency departments, intensive care units, and critical care units.”

It also plans to engage in regional or provincial protest activities parallel to the strike days, including sit-ins, marches, demonstrations, and group breakfasts, according to each region’s specificities.

The Union criticized “the government and the responsible ministry for their lack of response to their pending matters and deferred demands.”

The statement also condemned “the transfer of healthcare institutions to the private sector without prior notice under the pretext of innovative financing.” They viewed this action as “a way to undermining public health and a threat to the stability of health personnel working there.”

The nurses also voiced their frustration over the authorities’ refusal to allow peaceful protests by the Union in Rabat. They denounced, in this regard, “the prevention of the march originally scheduled from the parliament to the ministry on February 24, as well as the repression and abuse directed towards the protesters on March 6.”

The Union expressed “its rejection of the unilateral approach undertaken to pass Ministerial Decree No. 2808.23, which aimed to determine the joint classification of medical professionals.”

“We reiterate our commitment to all the achievements of the public service, including job security and centralized wages, and reject any attempt to shift the burden of the government’s deficit management onto the shoulders of nursing staff,” underscored the Union in the same statement.

The nursing staff pledged “not to allow the demands of nurses and health technicians to be further ignored, forgotten, or neglected.” It will continue its protests “to implement agreements, preserve gains, and counter plans aimed at destabilizing the professional stability of nurses and health technicians.”

The Union previously warned that “the delay in implementing the legal framework concerning the work of nurses and health technicians, not only leads to but will persistently claim victims within the system and victims of the artificial legal void.”