Hospital workers across the country went on strike on Wednesday

Nationwide strikeAt 08.30 in the morning, rally towards a gathering at Mavili square Palace of Maximos And the Ministry of Health tomorrow Wednesday (22/2) m Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Employees (Always).

A strike also participates Association of Doctors of the Hospitals of Athens and Piraeus (EINAP), includes all physicians who wish to participate.

«POEDIN is back in competitive demonstrations. We do not deserve a healthcare system where citizens buy healthcare services with their hands in their pockets and not provided by the government for free. We do not deserve a healthcare system dominated by contract workers in hospitals and workers with flexible working arrangements.“, the workers mentioned their demands in the strike declaration.

POEDIN declares its determination 6,000 workers should not be allowed to be laid off With Fixed Term Contracts (SCO), it is created 35% employees Hospitals and if they are laid off it will be “locked” in many key sectors.

They are also demanding that the legislature restore the ability for hospitals to meet the needs of support services by entering into new SOH contracts.

«Contractors who provide interim working conditions and return higher prices to the government“, they comment and add: “We do not deserve a healthcare system where patients suffer hours in the emergency room of on-call hospitals due to understaffing and lack of organized primary care. We don’t deserve farm hospitals. Due to long-term commitments, we have the fewest hospital beds in the EU countries. They operate at 3.5 beds per 100,000 population (35,000 beds in total) compared to 5.3 beds per 100,000 population in other European countries.».

“Private sector not immune to pandemic”

The National Health System proved its invaluable and irreplaceable role during the pandemic, POEDIN reported.

«The private sector is not holding back either. By treating non-covid diseases they increased their profits tremendously. So public health expenditure cannot be 5% of GDP (MO European countries 7.5% of GDP). This is how the quality of services declines, the system is slowly but surely privatized and citizens buy healthcare services with their hands deep in their pockets.».

For 10 years, there has been no increase in public health spending, yet as they say:

«The hospital’s arrears exceed 1 billion euros. No opportunity to update or maintain equipment and infrastructure. Absence of medical attendants and ambulances should not cause delay in transporting patients. Abandonment of children in children’s hospitals due to non-availability of welfare units or social incidents in the hospital and concurrent dismissal of 120 welfare support staff serving more than five years is not allowed. At a time when welfare departments are suffocating due to lack of staff».

Staff shortage and staff wages

Workers say hospitals are suffering from staff shortages. They suffer from constant resignations and barren announcements. There are thousands of empty organic states.

«This is due to unfavorable working conditions at meager wages and lack of political will to put limits on private sector activity. We will not allow the implementation of a law which would eliminate the full and exclusive employment of doctors in a system which is the basic principle behind the establishment of the National Health Service. We do not allow paid evening surgeries. We will not allow privatization of the system».

The heroes of the health war have seen no recognition from the government, NHS workers add:

«Our wages are frozen. We are paid according to the salary schedule (Law 4354/2015) introduced in 2015, which froze the salary development for two years, opening the doors to the entry levels of university academic units in DE and HR categories and positions for salary increases. DE and HE are every two years and every three years as opposed to PE and TE sections. These have contributed to health workers’ salaries often being below or well below the minimum wage for an unskilled worker (14 per year in the private sector, 12 per year in the public sector due to cuts in holiday bonuses and holiday pay). Accuracy at its peak“, they say.

Hazardous and unhealthy work allowance

As for its increase Hazardous and unhealthy work allowanceA large percentage of employees are excluded from this allowance expansion, POEDIN says, and many receive no raises or receive lower wages than expected.

«Nursing staff who currently receive 150 euros as allowance has been increased to 200 euros. The increase may be more commensurate with the effort he puts in each day. Specialties such as administrative and other professions related to medical care were excluded. Without any scientific criteria. Individual agents doing the same job. Hospitals, welfare, health centers, EKAV, any specialist staff are not dangerous and unsanitary. And yet they forgot!!! Despite the positive outcome of the Behrakis Committee set up by the Ministry of Labour, the much-hyped inclusion in heavy and unhealthy occupations (insurance) was not legislated as it languished in the drawers of the Ministry of Labour.“NSS employees conclude.

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