Highly frustrated about the ongoing deterioration of the National Health System, the dramatic working conditions that set patients at risk and the shortage of staff, Greece’s public hospital doctors and staff launched a 48-hour strike.
The Federation of Hospital Doctors of Greece (OENGE) launched a 48-hour strike across the country on Wednesday and Thursday, November 29-30, 2023. The protest action has been joined for November 30, also by the Panhellenic Federation of Public Hospital Workers (POEDIN).
Public hospital doctors ask for salary increases that have been frozen for 15 years, as they say, also increase in the minimum payment for on-call shifts and hiring to cover the vacant organic positions in hospitals.
In addition to advocating for salary increases and increased hiring, hospital doctors are calling for the permanent employment of all contract workers without conditions.
They are also pushing for autonomous taxation of on-call shifts, tax-exempt additional on-call shifts, and a boost in government funding for the public healthcare system. Lastly, they emphasize the importance of avoiding mergers or closures of any department, clinic, or hospital.
Also the Thessaloniki Association of Hospital Doctors (ENITH) is pushing for a doubling of salaries and an expansion of medical staff in hospitals. They highlight that medical position vacancies in the northern port city’s hospitals currently stand at 30%.
The president of Hospital Workers union (POEDIN) said that there 3,000 fewer doctors in public hospitals than in the previous year. Doctors either go to retirement and are not replaced or they leave either for the private sector or for abroad where salaries and working conditions are much better.
Meanwhile, the Health Minister Michalis Chrysohoidis dismissed the governor of maternity hospital Elena Venizelou in Athens at Wednesday noon, after media reported a few hours earlier that
- “pregnant women, young mothers, freshly operated patients, newborns and cancer patients waiting for chemotherapy, doctors and other personnel” have been without heating for the last two weeks.
According to personnel at the maternity hospital, “the central heating network exploded due to its age, as soon as it was put in operation two weeks ago” and there has been no plan to fix the problem.
“We have been without heating since November 17. We are not in Gaza,” the personnel stressed.
PS Even if on strike, there is always emergency personnel at hospitals.