The labor union representing nurses and medical workers here in the country has been heralding a strike which is set to begin tomorrow while negotiations are still underway.
The government is urging them to call off the plan as it prepares emergency care plans during the Chuseok holiday.
Cha Yun-kyung has more.
According to the country’s Central Labor Relations Committee on Wednesday, labor unions of medical workers at 11 out of the 61 hospitals that had planned to strike reached a wage agreement following all-night negotiations, raising hopes of avoiding an all-out walkout.
Negotiations are still underway with other hospitals but should they break down, the labor unions, which represent some 30,000 nurses and medical workers, will begin a strike at 7 AM Thursday.
The Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union is demanding improvements in working conditions, such as prompt normalization of medical treatments and a wage increase, amid the serious strain caused by thousands of trainee doctors walking off their jobs for more than half a year.
Once the strike begins, hospitals will suffer from disruption to medical treatments although they plan to maintain essential health care, such as emergency care and intensive care.
Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong, meanwhile, urged the union to refrain from participating in the planned strike, which came in response to the lingering medical vacuum.
Cho emphasized that the government will “establish a real-time monitoring system and take necessary measures if medical institutions participating in the strike show signs of disruption in maintaining essential operations.”
“The government will continue to push ahead with the reform plan by taking measures to minimize medical inconveniences, such as extending office hours in weekdays for public hospitals that are not taking part in the strike.”
On the other hand, the health ministry on Wednesday unveiled a set of measures to deal with emergency care before and after the Chuseok holiday next month.
Public hospitals will operate in emergency mode for two weeks before and after the Chuseok holiday and keep 4,000 hospitals and clinics operational, along with 29 emergency rooms for critically ill patients.
The Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union and management lead are currently reviewing measures to raise emergency room physician’s pay additionally from the previous increase.
Cha Yun-kyung, Arirang News.
source : https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=275320
