In two hours, the doctors walk through some streets of the capital, to the Ordem dos Médicos, where they reiterated their commitment to hold demonstrations, every Saturday, until their demands are met by the employer.
Speaking to Lusa, the vice-president of the National Union of Doctors of Angola (Sinmea), Domingas Mateus said that the strike went well and had the expected adhesion.
In 2021, the medical profession submitted a claim book to the Ministry of Health, in which they demand improvement in salary, social and working conditions, and the Government requested 90 days, after a few days of interruption of services, to meet the requests, however, the deadline expired and nothing was resolved, and the doctors resumed their strike indefinitely.
According to Domingas Mateus, at the Saturday demonstration the doctors reiterated the maintenance of the strike "and that if they want to cut wages, let them."
On Wednesday of last week, the Minister of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security, Teresa Dias, announced at the end of a round of negotiations that the Government will suspend the salaries of striking doctors, because "it complied with the points of the claim book ".
"We will not process the salaries of people who are on strike, because there has already been a lot of tolerance from the Government, we will prepare other forces and there, where there is a shortage, we will fit in, because it is the life of the citizen that is being jeopardized", said the minister, arguing that the decision has a legal basis because, in light of the Strike Law, their legal and employment relationship was suspended after declaring a strike.
Domingas Mateus said that in the demonstration there was a commitment to continue with the demonstrations every Saturday, "with a big crowd in the streets".
"From vigils, marches, every Saturday we will have a type of demonstration", she underlined.
The unionist stressed that since the last meeting between the parties, on Wednesday, there has been no contact, suspecting that by now the Government must have realized that the doctors will not give up on the strike.
"We even have the doctors' meeting scheduled for Tuesday, since decisions must be made in assembly", stressed the vice-president of Sinmea, adding that representatives of the ministries of Health and Public Administration, Labor and Social Security were invited to hear "the voice of the doctors themselves".
"They have already been invited to be present, because they think it is just the union leadership and they need to see that it is not a decision of the union leadership, it is the doctors in general, and we will show this in the assembly", she added.
The Sinmea leader highlighted that with the threat the Government "has achieved an opposite effect": "They wanted to frighten, but they only managed to arouse anger and the doctors want to show this in the assembly".
According to Domingas Mateus, the assembly will have as its only point a decision in the face of the Government's threats, "whether doctors are really willing to lose their salaries in favor of the strike or if they will retreat".
During the demonstration, the doctors requested that the minimum services until now ensured during the strike also be paralyzed, taking into account the Government's intention to suspend wages.
"The doctors who stayed are annoyed, they ask that everything stop since they won't pay salaries, there is no work. Others still ask that if it is to continue to maintain the minimum services, that the workforce of 25 be reduced. percent to 10 percent. All these suggestions will be presented and evaluated at the assembly", she stressed.
