Members of the board of the Pharmacists Syndicate said that negotiations with the Ministry of Health are still ongoing to resolve the profit margin of pharmacists, upon the Ministry's recent decision to increase the prices of more than 3,000 drugs.
The board members threatened to call for a nationwide strike if the crisis is not solved in the next two days at the latest.
Other members said that the results of negotiations were promising and that the ministry responded positively to the demands of the syndicate.
The syndicate is waiting over the next couple of days for the results of negotiations with the ministry before deciding on the strike action, said Syndicate secretary Mostafa al-Wakil.
The syndicate awaits as well the upcoming general assembly on February 1st to decide on the strike, Wakil mentioned.
Meanwhile, the syndicate demanded the cancellation of ministerial decree number 200 which allows any citizen, not necessarily a pharmacist, to own a pharmacy, Wakil told Al-Masry Al-Youm.
Wakil called for the dismissal of Health Minister Ahmed Emad Eddin, saying that the stubbornness in the minister's statements does not befit the position of a minister.
On the other hand, board member Gamil Baqtar, said the results of negotiations are positive, as the Ministry does indeed respond to the demands of the syndicate.
Daqahlia Pharmacists Syndicate Chairman Saeed Shamaa said the ultimatum given to the Ministry, after the presidency intervened to mediate, will end in two days, adding that he hopes a solution to the crisis would be reached before then.
During the suspension of the strike, the health minister continued to provoke pharmacists with his decisions, said Shamaa.
Shamaa explained that the pharmacists were angered with the minister's decision that allows pharmaceutical companies to sell their stored drugs in accordance with the new prices, while he banned the pharmacies from selling the stored drugs at the new prices.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
