Maputo — The Mozambican Medical Association (AMM) has threatened to extend for a further 21 days the doctors' strike that began on 10 July.

The AMM Chairperson, Milton Tatia, said at a press conference on Wednesday that a decision on extending the strike may be taken on Friday, at a national meeting of the association.

"We, as a professional class, will have a national meeting on Friday to decide the extension of this strike for another 21 days. At this moment, we do not have the conditions that would allow us to suspend the strike', he said.

The current strike was always intended to last for 21 days, but the AMM had warned that it could be extended if no agreement was reached with the government.

The strikers say that the reason for extending the strike is the alleged existence of a document sent to AMM by the government reporting on the revision of the regulation of the statute of doctors which "aims to reduce and eliminate doctors' rights.'

"The Ministry of Health intends to reduce and eliminate our rights still further. It intends to eliminate risk allowances and allowances for night work', he claimed.

"We are in the 17th day of the strike', said Tatia, "but we still haven't been contacted by the government. We've just been receiving messages via the press about the economic situation of the country. As doctors, we are aware of the financial difficulties the country is facing, and it was based on this that doctors gave way in almost all the demands that we initially made'.

He claimed that there are many cases in which the category of doctors within the unified wage table (TSU) for the public administration has been changed, with a subsequent cut in their wages.