Moroccan hospitals without medical staff

Four main labour syndicates, have called an open strike starting from Thursday by staff at all hospitals and medical institutions in Morocco, excluding  those working in emergency,  and intensive care. A joint statement issued by the four syndicates threatened to intensify their actions until the release of  two nurses who were arrested in Mohammediya city (70km north Rabat), charged with "taking brbes". The statement accused the Health Care Ministry's representative in Mohammediya of being complacent in providing lawyers for the arrested nurses, saying that the lack of legal support from the ministry's officials was behind a number of previous unfair verdict issued against medical staff members. The four syndicates are; The Democratic Confederal Union for Labour, The Democratic Federal Union for Labour, the General Labourers Union and the National Labourers Union. Representatives of the Health Care sector workers, have also called the Health Care Minister, al-Hussein al-Wardi, to push for an amendment to  the laws relating to the health care sector, adding that the workers have nothing to do with the disadvantages suffered in this sector as a result of the government's failure to put sufficient plans to develop it.