Reuters AlertNet Lite - Comoros state hospital staff strike over pay

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Comoros state hospital staff strike over pay

07 Feb 2007 15:55:28 GMT
Source: Reuters

MORONI, Feb 7 (Reuters) - More than half of the staff at Comoros' largest state hospital went on strike on Wednesday, saying they had not been paid for at least six months.

About 100 non-urgent patients were turned away from El-Marouf hospital while others waited hours for medical assistance after 254 paramedics failed to show up for work.

The government's inability to pay public sector salaries has become a recurring theme in the coup-prone Indian Ocean archipelago. In November, teachers also went on strike over unpaid wages.

Paramedics from the National Union of Health Agents (SYNAS) said work conditions had become intolerable.

"We don't have regular running water, oxygen is missing from the operating theatres and paediatric services cannot care for premature newborns," said midwife Ramlata Hassane.

While some residents waited for hours for assistance, others went to private hospitals.

"I had to walk almost a kilometre (half mile) for an ultrasound on my ill daughter's heart at a private lab," resident Ali Hassane said.

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Last updated:Wed Feb 7 15:56:59 2007

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