Corfu Hospital employees work stoppage and protest on Wednesday 26 January
work stoppage
24 Jan 2022
/ 19:40
CORFU. As part of the nationwide work stoppage of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers (POEDHN), the Hellenic Federation of Hospital Doctors Union (OENGE) and the Civil Servants΄ Confederation (ADEDY).
Corfu unions are calling on all workers to attend the protest outside the Former Prefecture on Wednesday 26 January, as part of the nationwide work stoppage of the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers (POEDHN), the Hellenic Federation of Hospital Doctors Union (OENGE) and the Civil Servants' Confederation (ADEDY).
Statement from the Corfu Hospital and Psychiatric Department Employees Union:
Two years after the start of the pandemic, the contradictory government management proves the inadequacy of a state, which instead of prioritising people’s modern health needs, is using the pandemic to implement its plans in an even more aggressive way.
The protocols in schools for suspending classes with 50% + 1 positive cases and the reduction of the quarantine period to 5 days, serve the needs of the economy more than health needs. Such an example would be the recent amendment that made working from home legal for those who are ill, thus making businesses employ them even when they are ill.
State funding for health is decreasing and, instead of strengthening hospitals, especially primary health care, which is in a terrible condition, 7,000 health workers have been suspended, thus weakening the health system. At the same time, privatisations, clinic and hospital closures, the strengthening of the private health sector, the ‘new National Health System’ for an even more commercialised health care that will be even more inaccessible to most people, are being promoted.
Moreover, during the pandemic the government has taken the opportunity and is constantly attacking labour rights (trade union law, working time arrangements etc), which, in the case of health workers, goes as far as threatening to fire thousands of colleagues who have been suspended.
Two years after the start of the pandemic, the Psychiatric Clinic is in a worse condition than it was at the start of the pandemic.
Due to the General Hospital’s insufficient personnel, the Psychiatric Clinic continues to cover the hospital’s needs, which had begun by the previous administration (nurses in the emergency department to “deal exclusively with psychiatric cases”, orders to social workers, etc.).
In order to meet the emergency needs, people were sent to vaccination centres, thus reducing the strength of the Mental Health Centre (and its ability to perform its role), as well as the structures they had been serving. In addition, nurses in the Psychiatric Clinic are doing shifts in the Covid unit, while the administration is planning to have physiotherapists of the Psychiatric Clinic provide their services to outpatients at the hospital.
At the same time, since the beginning of the suspensions – which left more than 10% of the workers in the Clinic without a job and made the condition in the already understaffed mental health structures and services even worse – the Psychiatric Clinic has been reinforced with only 2 auxiliary doctors – one of whom is also doing shifts in the Covid unit.
At the same time, mental health facilities are suffering due to understaffing, the gradual deterioration in the quality of the services provided and the fact that they have been turned into small asylums. In addition, with the spike in Covid cases, workers in the Clinic are starting to give up, thus making the operation of departments and facilities even worse.
There is also the possibility of further shrinking the Psychiatric Clinic, which already has 1 closed structure and 2 departments that have not even started operating yet, due to the great lack of staff.
Due to this situation and the general developments, along with other public sector workers, we are participating in the 3-hour work stoppage on Wednesday 26 January at 12:00-15:00, we are calling on all employees to attend the protest rally at 12:30 at the Former Prefecture and we are demanding the following:
- Return of all colleagues who have been suspended
- Strengthening of the National Health System with increased government funding
- Immediate recruitment of permanent staff of all specialties in the Psychiatric Clinic, as well as in the rest of the Hospital
- Withdrawal of dangerous EODY guidelines that are reducing quarantine days for employees
- Strengthening of primary health care and free tests for the whole population
- Actual contribution of private health structures for the management of the pandemic (ICU, single beds, operating theatres, laboratories etc.).
- Contract staff to be made permanent
- Inclusion of health workers in the arduous and unhealthy occupations
- Decent salary increases
CORFU HOSPITAL’S PHYCHIATRIC DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES UNION
Statement from the Corfu Hospital and Psychiatric Department Employees Union:
Two years after the start of the pandemic, the contradictory government management proves the inadequacy of a state, which instead of prioritising people’s modern health needs, is using the pandemic to implement its plans in an even more aggressive way.
The protocols in schools for suspending classes with 50% + 1 positive cases and the reduction of the quarantine period to 5 days, serve the needs of the economy more than health needs. Such an example would be the recent amendment that made working from home legal for those who are ill, thus making businesses employ them even when they are ill.
State funding for health is decreasing and, instead of strengthening hospitals, especially primary health care, which is in a terrible condition, 7,000 health workers have been suspended, thus weakening the health system. At the same time, privatisations, clinic and hospital closures, the strengthening of the private health sector, the ‘new National Health System’ for an even more commercialised health care that will be even more inaccessible to most people, are being promoted.
Moreover, during the pandemic the government has taken the opportunity and is constantly attacking labour rights (trade union law, working time arrangements etc), which, in the case of health workers, goes as far as threatening to fire thousands of colleagues who have been suspended.
Two years after the start of the pandemic, the Psychiatric Clinic is in a worse condition than it was at the start of the pandemic.
Due to the General Hospital’s insufficient personnel, the Psychiatric Clinic continues to cover the hospital’s needs, which had begun by the previous administration (nurses in the emergency department to “deal exclusively with psychiatric cases”, orders to social workers, etc.).
In order to meet the emergency needs, people were sent to vaccination centres, thus reducing the strength of the Mental Health Centre (and its ability to perform its role), as well as the structures they had been serving. In addition, nurses in the Psychiatric Clinic are doing shifts in the Covid unit, while the administration is planning to have physiotherapists of the Psychiatric Clinic provide their services to outpatients at the hospital.
At the same time, since the beginning of the suspensions – which left more than 10% of the workers in the Clinic without a job and made the condition in the already understaffed mental health structures and services even worse – the Psychiatric Clinic has been reinforced with only 2 auxiliary doctors – one of whom is also doing shifts in the Covid unit.
At the same time, mental health facilities are suffering due to understaffing, the gradual deterioration in the quality of the services provided and the fact that they have been turned into small asylums. In addition, with the spike in Covid cases, workers in the Clinic are starting to give up, thus making the operation of departments and facilities even worse.
There is also the possibility of further shrinking the Psychiatric Clinic, which already has 1 closed structure and 2 departments that have not even started operating yet, due to the great lack of staff.
Due to this situation and the general developments, along with other public sector workers, we are participating in the 3-hour work stoppage on Wednesday 26 January at 12:00-15:00, we are calling on all employees to attend the protest rally at 12:30 at the Former Prefecture and we are demanding the following:
- Return of all colleagues who have been suspended
- Strengthening of the National Health System with increased government funding
- Immediate recruitment of permanent staff of all specialties in the Psychiatric Clinic, as well as in the rest of the Hospital
- Withdrawal of dangerous EODY guidelines that are reducing quarantine days for employees
- Strengthening of primary health care and free tests for the whole population
- Actual contribution of private health structures for the management of the pandemic (ICU, single beds, operating theatres, laboratories etc.).
- Contract staff to be made permanent
- Inclusion of health workers in the arduous and unhealthy occupations
- Decent salary increases
CORFU HOSPITAL’S PHYCHIATRIC DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES UNION
