Protests rock Quito as healthcare workers demand unpaid wages

Clashes between protesters and police break out in Quito, Ecuador, as healthcare workers, students and labor groups take to the streets to demand, among other issues, unpaid wages for healthcare workers.

Water cannons and police in riot gear cleared protesters from streets and squares on Wednesday as the protests heated up.

The action in the street followed a decision by hundreds of post-graduate medical students working in public hospitals to walk off the job on Tuesday to protest a delay in wage payments.

Medical students have been working in public hospitals to support institutions stretched thin during the coronavirus pandemic.

Ecuador is facing liquidity problems due to the low price of crude oil and the effects of the pandemic, but the government has said it hopes to get back on track with payments after the disbursement of an International Monetary Fund credit in the coming weeks.

The government on Monday ended national quarantine rules and left the decision to implement measures to halt the spread of the coronavirus to local authorities. Ecuador has registered over 121,000 coronavirus cases and over 10,000 deaths from COVID-19, according to the health ministry.

(Source:Reuters)

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk