US embassy cable - 05SANAA905

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. 
 
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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. 
 
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"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." 
 
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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