CAIRO: Nineteen private clinics located in Cairo and Helwan closed down on Thursday in protest against low salaries. The Doctors' Syndicate called on private clinics to join a series of protests it said it is organizing until their demands are met. An official statement issued by the syndicate said they are protesting against doctors' low salaries and the government's procrastination in paying doctors their promised raises. The syndicate issued a list of the names and addresses of the 19 private clinics that participated in the strike. Hamdy Al-Sayed, chairman of the Doctors' Syndicate told Daily News Egypt that other clinics participated in the strike nationwide. However, their names were not available because they are supervised by the syndicates of their respective governorates, he said. Public and hospital clinics did not participate in the strike, neither did universities' educational hospitals. This is the third protest that the Doctors' Syndicate organized this month. Al-Sayed vowed to continue the strikes until all their demands are met. A protest scheduled for April 6, dubbed "the day of anger, in front of the syndicate fell through after only two doctors showed up.
