YEMEMI DOCTORS STRIKE, ACCUSE ROYG OF DOING HARM

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 000905

SIPDIS

PLEASE PASS TO MCC FOR A. BAYLOR

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/04/2015
TAGS: PGOV PREL ELAB ECON KMPI KMCA YM ECON COM
SUBJECT: YEMEMI DOCTORS STRIKE, ACCUSE ROYG OF DOING HARM

Classified By: Ambassador Thomas C. Krajeski for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d
).


1. (C) Summary. Yemeni doctors recently suspended a strike
against the ROYG. In a rare nation-wide organized strike in
modern Yemeni history, the physicians demanded higher wages
and a return of seized assets. None of the issues have been
resolved, and it appears likely the doctors will strike again
in the near future. The ROYG used all available means to
undermine the autonomy of the Yemen Physicians and
Pharmacists Syndicate, according to Syndicate leader Dr.
al-Shamiri, a ploy the ruling GPC party has used to influence
and control other professional organizations. End summary.

--------------
Doctors Strike, the First of Its Kind
--------------


2. (U) On March 30, pol/econoff met with Dr. Abdul Qaui
al-Shamiri, General Secretary of the Yemen Physicians and
Pharmacists Syndicate. The Syndicate recently suspended its
general strike, which had lasted from February 12 to March 8.
The dicision to suspend came after a ROYG commitment to
offer new salary packages to doctors. The doctor's strike
was the first national work stoppage since unification in
1990, affecting all medical services except emergency care.
If their demands are not met, the syndicate has promised to
resume the strike on July 1, and many doctors are demanding
even more immediate action. The professional organization's
main demand is for higher pay and return of its assets that
were seized by the government.


3. (U) Shamiri said that doctors in Yemeni public hospitals
are among the lowest paid civil servants, with salaries
equivalent to those of janitors. The highest possible salary
for an experienced medical doctor is approximately USD 130
per month, and a typical entry level doctor's salary is half
that. Doctors are treated as regular civil servants under
the payroll law, and are seeking compensation for the risks
and personal investment associated with their profession.

--------------
"The Government's Under General Anesthesia"
--------------


4. (U) The strike came amidst continued conflict between the
Syndicate and the ROYG. By its own charter, the Syndicate is
required to hold elections every four years, but has faced
repeated roadblocks from the Ministry of Social Affairs and
Labor. In March 2004, the ROYG ran false television spots
claiming that the Sanaa regional elections for the syndicate
had been cancelled, and sent security guards to block voters
on the day of elections. According to Shamiri, the doctors
held their ground and elected delegates despite the
difficulties.


5. (U) The Ministry responded by dissolving the syndicate and
forming its own rival organization, to which it appointed a
GPC loyalist as chairman. The ROYG did so even though the
elected chairman at the time, Dr. Yahya al-Huraibi, was also
a GPC member. Shamiri charged that after closing the
legitimate syndicate, the ROYG then seized the organization's
properties and bank accounts -- held at a government-owned
bank. According to Sanaa MD Sawsan al-Refai, most of the
syndicate's members remained unified and the ongoing conflict
with the ROYG only deepened their determination to achieve
their demands. The syndicate attempted to negotiate with the
Cabinet, Prime Minister, the Minister of Health, and
eventually even President Saleh, said Shamari, but the ROYG
would only deal with the new ROYG-formed syndicate. The same
was true for members of Parliament. Shamari said the
organization warned of a strike, but "the government was
under general anesthesia."

--------------
Zero Tolerance for Strikers
--------------


6. (C) When the doctors (along with many nurses and
technicians) walked off the job, recounted Shamari, the ROYG
used all means at its disposal to intimidate doctors back to
work. Many doctors had their jobs threatened, and
electricity and water to their homes cut off. In Dhammar,
several doctors were locked in closets for twelve hours by
government security guards, according to Shamari. In Saada,
the Governor threatened to label the strikers as supporters
of the al-Houthi rebellion, putting their safety at risk.

7. (C) Prime Minister AbdulKader Bajammal engaged the
syndicate in negotiations several weeks into the strike,
offering to form his own committee to deal with syndicates.
The doctors reponded that he could not have it both ways,
saying: "If a prime minister can sit on a labor committee,
then the doctors should be in the cabinet." According to
another Sanaa doctor, Huraibi suspended the strike against
the will of a majority of syndicate members, to give the ROYG
time to respond and offer breathing room to beleaguered
doctors.


8. (U) Shamari said that as part of the deal, negotiators for
the Ministry of Social Affairs promised (verbally) to return
fired strikers to their positions and halt the offensive
against the Syndicate. Instead, they have used the interlude
to remove disloyal hospital managers, such as the head of the
Yemen-Kuwait Hospital. Such actions have further antagonized
doctors and increased the likelihood of a renewed work
stoppage. The ROYG has promised to include doctors in
upcoming civil service reform, but Shamari called this
politicking. Physicians do not care how their salaries are
raised, he said, only that their wages are comparable to
those in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
--------------
Doctors Becoming Political Activists
--------------


9. (C) As a result of their struggle with the ROYG, Syndicate
leadership has become more politically sophisticated. They
coordinate regularly with other autonomous professional
syndicates, meeting in secret to avoid trouble with the
government. Shamari shared that such activism is new to
Yemen and it remains difficult to unify civil society for
specific objectives. He said he would welcome international
support and training, which would help build the syndicates'
capacity and provide political cover from the ROYG. (Note:
The Medical Syndicate submitted a proposal to NDI's Democracy
Development Center to help train its leadership in civil
action. End note).


10. (C) Comment: The medical syndicate's problems are but
the latest episode in the ROYG's habitual interference in
professional organizations. The doctors' strike coincided
with another strike by university professors voicing similar
demands. This follows earlier (successful) attempts by the
ROYG to block internal elections in the engineers syndicate,
and ongoing meddling with the lawyers and journalists
syndicates. When the ROYG cannot ensure the election of its
preferred candidates, it forms a shadow organization and
simply appoints them. Such actions undermine the
government's official positions on democracy and civil
society. In reality, the ROYG will tamper with the smallest
election to ensure a satisfactory outcome to the GPC, and
fears dissent on such issues as the economy and corruption
from Yemen's educated professionals.

Krajeski