Number of medical committees in Bekaa staged a one hour solidarity stand, protesting against the state’s delay in paying doctors’ dues for more than a year, as they are currently receiving their 2019 dues.

In accordance with this stand, the head of the Lebanese Doctors Syndicate in Beirut, Professor Sharaf Abu Sharaf, issued a statement declaring the union’s full solidarity, noting that this is only the first step before heading towards a general strike.

The statement stressed, “These dues are doctors’ rights,  who are working  for meager fees and a small tariff to be paid after one or two years of the medical work completion , so they are working almost for  free, and this does not motivate them to stay here, and pushes those who have the opportunity, to emigrate.” Abu Sharaf explained that the union has been calling for years to increase the tariff according to living index cost, and to pay directly to the doctor and not through hospitals or medical committees, within a short period of time that does not exceed three months.”

The statement continued: “the state must move quickly and put these demands on top of its priority list. The Syndicate Council is in contact with those concerned in each of the ministries of health, finance, labour, social security and security agencies, and gets nothing but promises.”

Abu Sharaf concluded: “It is true that medicine is a humanitarian mission, but like all other professions, there is a minimum for workers to provide the necessities of a decent living to ensure continuity and preserve dignity.”