A group of health workers in São Tomé told Lusa this Saturday that they have not received salaries, in some cases for four years, because the government of São Tomé has not completed the processes of inclusion in the public administration.
In this situation, Lusa said, the Central Hospital and district health centers will employ about 380 employees who provided services as stretchers, paramedics, drivers, as well as in the administrative and financial sectors.
Most of them were recruited by the previous government, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the latter by the current leader due to the wave of emigration that has affected the country in recent years.
“We work there, picket, they don’t bring us any satisfaction. We are family people, we have difficulties.” […]“Nobody gives us satisfaction, the years go by, the years go by, and no one gives us satisfaction,” Waldemar Torres said in a conversation with Lusa.
“The system is bankrupt, it is very corrupt, because there are elements that entered three months ago, six months ago and have already received their salaries, but we have been there for years and they do not bring us satisfaction,” he added.
According to the group, the majority of support staff in Sao Tome’s national health system are in a situation that now threatens to paralyze service delivery.
Lyudmila Quaresma, who worked for a year as a paramedic in the maternity ward of the central hospital, emphasized that it is mainly children, the children of workers, who suffer.
“The ministers who are now in the government do not receive salaries? […] Mostly our children suffer; we have nothing to feed them. […], there are those who do not have money to pay rent. What will our life be like?” he asked.
These employees are now under the supervision of the Minister of Health and Women’s Rights, Angela Costa, who is asking for a quick solution.
“The minister must understand that hunger hurts, it is not easy. I have six children,” Vanya Jordao complained.
The group also said that after years of trying to resolve the situation behind the scenes, it was now forced to speak out publicly, despite fears of possible retaliation.
“I have already prepared five or six documents that are lying at home, but my salary still has not arrived. […]The state, the ministers, the entire government better solve our problem, otherwise no one will work,” said Juselina Telmo, a mother of six who worked in psychiatry for two years.
Lusa tried to contact the Ministry of Health and the management of the Central Hospital, but to no avail.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.