Argentina's health workers demonstrate for better wages
Argentine doctors, residents, nurses and health workers protest in Buenos Aires.
Unionised healthcare professionals at public hospitals in Buenos Aires City walked off the job in protest at low pay and staffing levels, decrying a “lack of answers” from the authorities.
The demands of the demonstrators – who were dressed in their traditional white coats for the rally – include calls for an "urgent salary increase, with a floor of 200,000 pesos" for all workers and the "immediate incorporation" of new professionals.
Doctors, nurses and support staff gathered downtown to march from the Obelisk to the Plaza de Mayo, before marching on the headquarters of the City Health Ministry to demand a meeting with the head of the portfolio, Fernán Quirós.
A statement from the organisers of the protest decried the “lack of answers” from the authorities in the wake of runaway inflation and tough conditions for healthcare professionals.
Doctors, nurses and other health workers have taken to the streets several times in recent weeks to demand improved pay and working conditions, especially in light of the exhaustive workload doctors and nurses faced during the coronavirus pandemic.
The conflict has raised further challenges for state hospitals in the capital, some of which have seen their services reduced to emergency care and treatment only.
ATE representatives had held a press conference at the Rivadavia Hospital confirming that a 24-hour strike would affect 34 healthcare institutions across Buenos Aires.
