"The salaries of people who are on strike will not be processed, because there has already been a lot of tolerance from the Government, we will prepare other forces (human resources) and there, where there is a shortage, we will fit in, because it is the life of the citizen that is being put concerned", said the Minister of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security, Teresa Dias.
According to the official, the suspension of the salaries of doctors, who have been on strike since March 21, 2022, has a legal basis because, in light of the Strike Law, their legal and employment relationship is suspended after declaring the strike.
The doctors resumed their strike last week, after a suspension that lasted 90 days, for pointing out alleged non-compliance with the points of their claims book, especially in the field of salary increases and better working conditions.
This Wednesday, at a press conference, Minister Teresa Dias and her Health counterpart, Sílvia Lutucuta, presented the status of negotiations with doctors, guaranteeing that the executive has already made the respective adjustments.
"And from this point of view, the executive has no further adjustment that he can make to what he has already presented", said Teresa Dias during the press release that took place at the headquarters of the Ministry of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security (MAPTSS), in Luanda.
The MAPTSS holder reported that "all the points claimed by the doctors have been resolved and others of continuous solution are in progress", referring that in relation to salaries "there was an increase of 6 percent over the base salary".
"There was also a 60 percent increase in subsidies, it went to 192 hours of work and it is not cordial that whoever puts this in the claim book cannot carry out these hours. We only carry out what was requested", she stressed.
"Therefore, people cannot want to earn more by doing less, the request is feasible and people (doctors and other health professionals) have a limit of up to 192 hours added", stressed the minister.
Teresa Dias also said that most of the doctors on strike "are doctors on the probationary period, who joined a recent period and are undergoing training" and "do not have the legitimacy to strike."
In the assessment of doctors on probation, she observed, "these cannot be transferred to the public service".
For the MAPTSS minister, who understands that the objectives of the doctors' strike "are not very well understood, the position of the authorities is supported by the law.
In turn, the Angolan Minister of Health "congratulated" the health professionals who "continue to do their service in a humanized way", reiterating the "commitment to improving medical and drug care, improving working conditions and the safety of professionals ".
The Angolan Government, recalled Sílvia Lutucuta, "has held since 2018 the largest public tenders in the history of the sector, having already admitted more than 32,000 new professionals in all careers".
The Angolan Health Minister also referred to the doctors on the probationary regime who joined the strike, because they are not yet civil servants, they are in the training period and in this regard, attendance is very important".
"These young people must resume their work and training activities", concluded Sílvia Lutucuta.
