According to the Portuguese Nurses’ Union (SEP), the strike by nurses of the National Health Service (SNS), which began today at 00:00, has already led to the closure of operating rooms and air conditioning in health centres and hospitals.
“Expectations are very high, given the lack of response from the Ministry to the nurses’ problems (…). We already know of hospitalizations with 100% participation in the strike,” Fatima Monteiro, coordinator of the SEP’s general directorate in Porto, told Lusa.
“The palliative care and family health departments have also been hit hard, with many areas [de cirurgia] “They are also 100%,” he added, without specifying the location.
Outside the doors of the São João Hospital in Porto, where one of several nurses’ meetings is scheduled today, the union leader once again criticised Health Minister Ana Paula Martins, saying she was “insulting” the class.
“The values you propose are offensive. The nurses who responded to Covid-19, who were present at the vaccinations and who were so applauded, are insulted,” said Fatima Monteiro.
SNS nurses are on strike today on morning and afternoon shifts, demanding promotions and better working conditions.
The strike was called by the AKP on 16 July, claiming that a presentation of a proposal to change the salary scale had not been carried out, leading to the suspension of negotiations at a meeting scheduled for that day.
On Wednesday, the SEP met again with the health minister, and at the end of the meeting, SEP President José Carlos Martins told reporters that the strike was continuing because the proposal presented by the government was still unacceptable and intolerable” and because such nurses had “additional reasons to express their strong indignation.”
According to José Carlos Martins, the Ministry of Health has proposed increasing the salary scale for nurses by 52 euros for all paid positions.
In addition, in the salary scales for specialist nurses and nurse managers, “the government is proposing not to change any scales,” the union leader said, adding, however, that the proposal envisages that nurses currently in those categories could “give a jump from a favourable position.”
The proposal means that “whoever comes into the future, the economic value of the work of specialists and senior nurses will remain exactly the same as it is today,” he lamented.
Today in Luz, Fatima Monteiro asked: “Do you consider the work of these nurses despicable?”
For the person in charge, “the absence of a proposal that reflects the assessment of nurses is unacceptable” and he is confident that “a number of problems will follow”.
Nurses are also demanding “affirmation of the 35-hour workweek for nurses,” and ways to compensate for the “systematic use of overtime to make up for nursing shortages,” which exacerbates the risk and hardship of working in the profession.
As for more precise data on participation in the strike, the AKP sent clarifications in the middle of the morning.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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