Moroccan Medical Crisis: Young Doctors Boycott Public Sector Jobs, Demand Better Pay and Conditions

These competitions aim to fill the large deficit in healthcare personnel in public hospitals, reports Assabah. Contrary to the government’s expectations, only a few candidates responded to the government’s call. The registered candidates were less than the number of positions to be filled.

According to the young graduates of the faculties of medicine, working in the public sector does not guarantee better working conditions. Thus, they first demand a revaluation of salaries and more benefits. In the Laâyoune Sakia El Hamra region, no doctor showed up for the competition organized by the Ministry of Health. In Guelmin-Oued-Noun, only one doctor took part in the similar competition organized by the regional health department for 12 positions to be filled. Worse, no dental specialist showed up for this competition.

According to the same media, the competitions organized by the ministry in several regions were boycotted not only by doctors, but also by newly graduated nurses despite the measures taken by the ministry for the organization of remote competitions. For doctors, this boycott is "a clear message to the parties concerned."

The same source recalls that the minister promised to review the entire system at the end of the Covid-19 epidemic. He would have promised a radical change in the status, salaries and working conditions of doctors, nurses and other medical technicians.