Palestina - Doctors ordered back to work (2012)

In April, the Supreme Court ordered striking Palestinian health workers back to work following a government petition. The workers had been on strike for several weeks. The statement called on the health minister to resolve the dispute between the union and the government. In June, the dispute escalated as the doctor’s union threatened to submit mass resignations in response to a decision by the Palestinian government in Ramallah to refer the ongoing strike in the medical sector to court in order to halt the strike. Doctors began a further strike in August after authorities refused to sign wage related clauses in a collective agreement concerning wages. Palestinian Authority doctors also called for the dismissal of the health minister who they allege is destroying the public health system.