POEDIN, by decision of the General Council, announces a 24-hour nationwide strike for Thursday 21/9/2023, the day of the submission to Parliament of the labor bill requesting its withdrawal.

The requests are “to withdraw the labor bill, to extend the contracts of the 2,000 hospital workers through DYPA and to remove where there are contractors in the NSS with the ongoing tenders costing much more money and offering working conditions of the Middle Ages”.

POEDIN’s announcement:

The bill establishes provisions that abolish the 8-hour, five-day work day and criminalize union activity.

To “live” decently a worker should be paid according to his working hours and not forced to work day and night for several or one employer without rest. Even today, employers and the public do not respect statutory labor rights and exploit workers with poorly paid work, with dozens of days off and days of normal leave due. Even more so after the passing of such a bill that further elasticises labor relations.

Hospitals are staffed by contract workers who have repeatedly denounced the conditions they work in which are reminiscent of the Middle Ages. Contractors who cost the State much more money than the employment of permanent or even contract workers.

We demand the expulsion of the contractors and the hiring of contractors in the support services.

In the Hospitals, 2,000 employees work in critical services (casualties, technical service, administrative employees, etc.) on the front line with the DYPA programs for the long-term unemployed aged 55 to 67 with two-year contracts. Contracts gradually expire, leaving gaps that cannot be filled in the Hospitals, and colleagues “for a while” either in the age limit or in the number of official positions do not have the right to retire.

In our meeting with the Minister of Labor, he pledged that he would consider the possibility of legislation extending the contracts for one year. There was no initiative by the Minister of Labor to extend the contracts in question. They are being fired gradually even though they are absolutely necessary to us even though they have been trained and gained experience.