Mauritanian Health Syndicate approves risk premium

On Tuesday, Mauritania Health Syndicate confirmed that their demands regarding risk premium was approved. Mauritanian Finance Minister promised to pay this premium. The risk premium was demanded by the Coordination office of the health union months ago. The Finance Minister assured that he gave his instructions to the technical departments in the Finance Ministry to pay it to workers who did benefit from it. The health syndicate considered this step as "important, and honours the doctors’ struggles." The health union said in a statement to Arabstoday that it met with the Minister of Finance in the presence of the Director of Human Resources in the Health Ministry. The meeting discussed the implementation of the decree that generalises the risk premium on all health workers and without being taxed. The Health Syndicate said that the Minister promised to immediately pay the risk premium through issuing instructions to pay the risk premium to the workers who did not benefit from them. It was also important to form a technical committee between the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Service in order to implement the new employment hierarchy as soon as possible. The Health Coordination Office said that the Finance Minister stated: "The government is working on establishing a fund to provide a loan of housing for state workers, especially health workers, in order to resolve the matter of the lands, which the workers demand.” The Coordination Health Office met last week with the Minister of Health Ba Housseinou Hamadi, who promised to find a fair settlement for the heads of health centres who were arbitrarily transferred from Brakna north of Nouakchott. The doctors in Nouakchott demonstrated in order to make them return to their work. However, arranging a prompt meeting with the Minister of Finance will be a way to resolve the problems that are related to his sector. The Health syndicate said that the Minister promised them during the meeting to work on the establishment of a technical committee responsible for unifying and reviewing the additional hours, conceiving all areas of motivation premiums in the national hospitals, and promising to allocate financial means in order to be able to pay them.   The Coordination Health Office considered these steps positive, and a step in achieving some of their urgent demands. It also appreciated the spirit of openness and dialogue that prevails between the office and the government, in an atmosphere of mutual trust, in order solve all the outstanding issues that are related to workers' rights and interests.