Late salaries lead doctors to threaten to halt activities in Nampula

Tensions are rising again at Nampula Central Hospital, where non-resident doctors are threatening to paralyze activities starting next Thursday, April 2nd. The reasons given are alleged salary delays and the government's failure to comply with previously established agreements.

The decision comes after, according to the professionals, successive appeals were ignored. In a letter circulating on social media since last week, the doctors justify the strike by citing the silence of the authorities regarding the accumulated debts for overtime hours relating to the years 2023 and 2024.

In the document, the professionals demand the full regularization of the overdue amounts, including payments for December 2023, as well as the months of September, October, November and December 2024, in addition to October, November and December 2025 and subsequent periods.

The doctors also issued a clear warning: overtime work may be suspended if there is no concrete solution to guarantee regular payment for these hours, in the same manner already applied to resident doctors in the unit.

However, the Mozambican Medical Association, through its delegation in Nampula, claims it has not been officially informed about the strike call. The provincial delegate, Tomás Coimbra, explained that the organization only learned about the matter informally, on the sidelines of the National Doctors' Day celebrations.

If confirmed, the strike could primarily affect services provided outside normal working hours in the public sector, placing additional pressure on the already overburdened healthcare system in the region.