Nurses working in healthcare facilities covered by the Associação Portuguesa da Hospitalização Privada (APHP) strike for the first time on March 16, the Union of Portuguese Nurses (SEP) said on Tuesday.
The SEP requires a 35-hour work week and shift management, a monthly pay increase for those who work in shifts, a prevention scheme payment, an increase in compensation for so-called sick hours (nights, weekends and holidays), a 10% pay increase, and an increase in the food subsidy in addition to 25 days of vacation.
The strike is “linked to career talks in terms of private hospitalization, involving major economic health groups, with a total of 75 institutions and reaching 4,200 nurses,” trade union leader Rui Marroni told reporters on Tuesday. an initiative with the Hospital da Luz de Coimbra.
“These nurses had irregular hours and worked 40 hours a week or more. Since we started this process, the two institutions have moved forward with wage increases, but we want this to be regulated in the collective agreement that we are negotiating. ” added.
The union leader denounced the exaggerated working hours of nurses who have “more than 200 hours of work in debt, which means at least one month of work, and this cannot be.”
“We intend that this issue be properly regulated in this collective agreement and limited to 35 hours a week, as it happens in other sectors, namely in the social sector and public administration,” he stressed.
According to Rui Marroni, the negotiations, which began in November, have not received “progress from the association representing these private groups.”
“We submitted a proposal to revise the collective agreement on November 3, and we had four meetings, the last of which was on February 14, and what we brought from this meeting is nothing more than nothing,” he added.
The AKP leader added that the APHP intends to negotiate a reduction in working hours, which the union does not accept, as it intends “virtually nurses to practice a weekly working period, rather than unregulated work that jeopardizes their privacy and family life.”
The strike was announced on Tuesday in Coimbra, next to the Hospital da Luz, by placing a banner, followed by a press conference.
On Tuesday afternoon, the SEP will also place banners next to Hospital da Sanfil and CUF, affiliated organizations of the APHP.
“We intend to negotiate a collective agreement, that is, a career for nurses in this sector, but if there is no development in the negotiation process, naturally, we will decide with nurses on other forms of struggle,” concluded Rui Marroni.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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