Egypt doctors strike for better wages, services

CAIRO (AP) -- Egypt's doctors' union says the country's physicians have gone on a partial strike, abstaining from offering non-emergency services in public hospitals to protest run-down facilities and meager wages.

Mohammed Abdel-Hamid, who is a spokesman for the union, said Monday that over 70 percent of the country's 520 public hospitals took part.

Egypt's public health services have suffered years of neglect and corruption. Doctors' salaries begin at $42 per month. Abdel-Hamid said that his hospital's emergency room ran out of some kinds of painkillers a month ago for lack of resources.

Abdel-Hamid said the strike began after negotiations with the government failed to secure a pledge for increases in the health budget.

A government spokesman could not be reached immediately for comment.