'Where are they now?'

Resident doctors in Mosul strike over three-month salary delay, call for help from lawmakers

MOSUL — Hundreds of newly appointed resident doctors from the 2023 cohort have gone on strike to demand salaries that have been delayed for more than three months, warning of further action if payments are not issued. The Nineveh Health Directorate has called on the doctors to return to work, saying the issue stems from a lack of central government funding.

“We decided to go on strike because we haven’t received our monthly salaries for over three and a half months,” said Dr. Nour Al-Huda Fadel, a resident doctor, speaking to 964media. “More than 400 of us from the 2023 batch remain unpaid, despite numerous promises. Colleagues in other provinces have received their payments, while we in Nineveh are left in limbo without explanation or resolution.”

Healthcare workers in related fields voiced similar frustrations. Falah Saleh, an anesthesia technician, urged Nineveh’s lawmakers to act. “We call on our lawmakers to pressure the Ministry of Finance to release our delayed salaries. Where are they now? We only see them during election campaigns. They need to act and push both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance to resolve this crisis.”

Saleh added that confusion persists about the cause of the delay. “The Nineveh Health Directorate claims it sent the payroll lists to the Ministry of Health, which in turn forwarded them to the Ministry of Finance. Yet, the payments remain pending.”

The strike has already disrupted medical services in the governorate. “Our goal isn’t to harm people’s lives but to demand our rightful pay,” said Abdulrazzaq Al-Hajjar, another resident doctor. “Senior doctors have stepped in to handle emergencies, but non-urgent cases will remain untreated because of the strike. We hope the relevant authorities address this issue to prevent further disruption.”

Officials at the Nineveh Health Directorate said they are working to resolve the issue but stressed that the delay is due to financial bottlenecks. “We met with the protesting doctors, whose numbers exceed 5,000. As a health authority, we’ve submitted the required lists to the Ministry of Health, which passed them on to the Ministry of Finance,” said Hassan Watheq, deputy director of the Nineveh Health Directorate. “The delay is due to a lack of cash flow at the finance ministry level.”

Watheq added that the Minister of Health, the Nineveh Health Director, and the provincial governor are closely monitoring the situation. “We’ve raised the issue with the minister’s office, and they’ve promised to expedite the release of the funds. We urge the striking doctors to return to their posts and continue providing medical care to our community, as the issue lies solely between the two ministries.”