By Andria Kades
Health Minister Philippos Patsalis on Tuesday said patients should be the priority as nurses unions plan a four-strike for Thursday.
Organised by the Cyprus nurses union (PASYNO), the nurses branch of public service union (PASYDY), and the Cyprus nurses and midwives association, they will also be joined by PASYDY unions for mental health, physiotherapists, radiologists, lab technicians and pharmaceuticals.
Finance minister Harris Georgiades on Tuesday called their actions “unreasonable and provocative” at a time where thousands of people are unemployed, asking them to think twice.
“Staff in the health department cannot put forward huge employment matters in light of a strike. These big problems will be solved with the restructure and autonomy (of the hospitals),” Patsalis said referring to the NHS scheme.
“At this moment I think it’s the patients’ problems that have a priority and unfortunately there are many in the public health service.”
Unions are asking that starting salaries for nurses are re-evaluated and increased, a process that was interrupted in 2013. Georgiades said this would cost the government over €35m but PASYNO spokesperson Theodoros Petelis reiterated they “would only want a pay rise if and when the government has money”.
“We are not asking for more money like the ministry is trying to make it look like we are,” he added.
Their second demand is that 185 nurses who passed state exams in 2011 have their jobs unfrozen and are no longer required to work as temporary staff.
Patsalis said that several jobs were in the process of being unfrozen particularly for high ranking members of staff.
The third problem has to do with contracts new staff sign that require a 10 per cent slash from their salary. When employees however renew their contracts every six months, they are classed as ‘new’ every single time and have salary reductions.
“We want this to be corrected and changed by giving staff indefinite contracts like they used to in the past,” Petelis said citing examples of people who have worked for five years, constantly renewing six-month contracts.
Lastly, unions are requesting that 130 vacant managerial positions are filled without a pay rise due to the desperate situation in hospitals. This would offer much needed administration and not cost the government extra money, Petelis added.
The management of hospitals has been an issue since January since when employees have been striking on and off complaining of an increased workload amid a shortage of staff, lack of hospital beds, medicine and a dysfunctional system.
About two weeks ago, Patsalis said he had concrete solutions to present to unions and had the good will to solve the problem. Unions said he rejected all their requests.
Georgiades reiterated the health minister’s statements that all problems will be solved with the implementation of the NHS, which would allow more of the staff to become permanent.
He also said a card system would be introduced to monitor overtime work “as is done in the rest of the world and other government departments”.
Petelis, speaking on behalf of all striking unions, said they are completely opposed to the government line that an NHS board would “make all problems disappear” and they would end up “becoming prey in the whole situation”.
They feel that if the state does not help or protect them, then why would the new board.
