Doctors` and fishermen`s protests
Baku, November 30 (AZERTAC). Doctors protested outside the Ministry of Finance in Cairo on 31st March after the government broke a promise to raise their pay. Doctors on the protest spoke to a CWI reporter about the issues.
The basic pay for a newly qualified doctor is only LE250 a month (US$44) while a consultant gets US$250 a month. To be able to live, they have to work long hours in private practice - often a 16-hour day. Many doctors are demanding a basic wage of LE1200.After protests last year, Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif promised a pay rise in two instalments. Some doctors have received the first, but the government now say that due to the world economic situation, it does not have the funds to pay the rest.
The doctors` syndicate (official trade union) is led by members of the Muslim Brotherhood (MB). Their strategy is to ask for gradual pay rises until an acceptable level is reached. Other doctors on the protest, from the group Doctors Without Rights, felt the MB leadership were just organising a token protest and that strike action for the minimum of LE1200 was needed.
One doctor spoke to the CWI about the general situation: “In 2005 there were lots of movements. Kefaya (`Enough`) was launched as a broad democracy campaign. The government held a referendum for constitutional changes which were very restrictive. It was the first time in nearly thirty years that there had been such protests on the streets, under the umbrella of Kifaya. This ended in 2006 after the protests by judges. Mubarak was re-elected. The movement went into hibernation.
“The protests have been quite successful in bringing the out the difference between the professions and the government, but limited as to real change. There are barely 50 doctors here today, with five trucks of security forces (about 120 men) intimidating the protestors. The idea of resisting the state is quite scary. Doctors will be questioned by their hospital managers when they return about why they went on the protest.”
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