Health Workers Strike For Improved Pay In Buenos Aires

The health workers reportedly began a 24-hour strike for low pay and staffing levels in Buenos Aires City, Argentina on Tuesday, Nov. 8.

Doctors, nurses, and support staff at public hospitals in Buenos Aires City in Argentina walked off during working hours to protest against low pay on Tuesday, Nov. 8. The protestors demanded an urgent salary increase for all healthcare workers and "immediate incorporation" of new working professionals, Buenos Aires Times reported.

The healthcare professionals gathered downtown to march from the Obelisk to the Plaza de Mayo. They then marched on the headquarters of the City Health Ministry to demand a meeting with the head of the portfolio, Fernán Quirós.

"We have still not received an answer from the [City] Health Minister Fernán Quirós,” said Belén Díaz, a worker at the Santojanni Hospital in Liniers.

“We sent a request for an urgent meeting, with alternative proposals, but we have not received a response.”

She said that those rallying were seeking 290,000 pesos (US$ 14,822) in gross salary, in order to have 250,000 pesos (US$12,775) net. Nurses who have been on strike for two weeks to demand recognition of their profession's harsh conditions were also present at the rally.

"You can't work for poverty wages anymore," they said.

The healthcare workers have taken to the streets several times in recent weeks to demand improved pay and working conditions. Due to the protest, some of the state hospitals in the capital have seen their services reduced to emergency care and treatment only.

"I don't remember anything like this,” said Gustavo Frei, a doctor at the Hospital de Niños Ricardo Gutiérrez, the city's largest pediatric center.

“It’s difficult, but it’s the right thing to do. People need well-trained doctors and for that, you have to pay them well.”

Tuesday’s strike was reportedly organized by the Agrupación Hospitales de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires branch of the Asociación de Trabajadores del Estado (Association of State Workers, ATE) union. In the strike, workers rallied under the slogans: "They call us essential and treat us as disposable” and “health in emergency.”

Residents and attending nurses from the Asociación de Licenciados en Enfermería (Association of Licensed Nurses, ATE) and members of the Comisión Provincial de Residentes (CPR) also joined the action.