Medical staffs launch strike in opposition areas in Syria’s Aleppo

ALEPPO, Syria (North Press) – The Syrian medical staffs at al-Rai and al-Bab Hospitals, Aleppo northern countryside in northern Syria, announced on Monday a general strike, due to delay in receiving salaries, and mistreatment by the hospitals’ Turkish administrations.

An exclusive source told North Press that the Syrian medical staff at al-Rai Hospital launched a general strike, with the exception of emergency cases, due to low salaries, in addition to bad treatment they get by the hospital’s Turkish administration.

The source added, the Syrian medical staff at al-Bab Hospital, in solidarity with al-Rai Hospital, announced a strike. The staff said they would continue their strike until their demands are met and they get an increase to their salaries, which they did not receive for more than two months.

Recently, several medical staff – who work in the hospitals that operate in the Turkish-held areas in Aleppo northern countryside – organized protests against their Turkish-backed local administrations due to mistreatment and low salaries, but to no avail.

The Turkish-run hospitals in Aleppo northern countryside suffer from difficult problems both medically and functionally due to lack of medical staff and especially competent physicians, which is a result of low salaries and mistreatment, the source added.

The Syrian medical staffs – who comprise the majority of workers at the Turkish-run hospitals in al-Bab, al-Rai, Jarabulus, Afrin and Marea – are repeatedly subjected to mistreatment and discrimination.

On September 10, a militant of a Turkish-backed opposition faction assaulted a Syrian doctor inside the Jarabulus National Hospital, prompting the medical staff of the hospital to launch a strike.