The Cape Verdean government has asked more than 300 health workers to take part in a three-day strike starting Wednesday after failing to reach an agreement with unions over minimum services.
In a resolution published in the Official Gazette, the executive said seven unions representing health workers had called a 72-hour national strike from July 31 to August 3, with the Directorate General of Labour taking the “necessary steps” to reconcile the parties, “which has not been achieved.”
The parties also failed to reach an agreement on the minimum services required during this period, so the government ordered a civilian requisition of a list of 363 specialists who would work for three days.
Upon request, the executive intends to guarantee “the right to access to health care for all citizens” and after the strike “normal activity can be resumed in all health structures in the country.”
Cape Verdean health workers’ union spokesman Luis Lima estimated that 70% of Lusa supported the three-day strike in the sector.
The strike started at 08:00 (10:00 in Lisbon) and will end at 08:00 on August 3 and comes after the union and the government failed to reach an agreement on wage increases and other issues.
The strike will affect all health departments and services on the nine inhabited islands of Cape Verde and will involve all professional classes performing functions in the relevant health structures.
Among the requirements is the approval and implementation of the corresponding PCFR (Career, Functions and Remuneration Plan) for health professionals, nurses and the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) with retroactive effect to January 2024.
In addition, they also want to agree on the level of career classification by functional groups and the recruitment of newly qualified doctors for continuous training to integrate them into specific services.
There are approximately 4,000 health workers in Cape Verde who are members of seven trade unions.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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