Seoul National University Hospital Union to Begin Indefinite Strike from 31st... "Blocking Reduction of Public Hospital Beds"

The Seoul National University Hospital Labor Union announced on the 19th that it decided at the 9th extraordinary delegate meeting on the 17th to begin an indefinite strike starting from the 31st.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The union made this decision after their demands to the management for preventing the reduction of public hospital beds, stopping the shifting of responsibility for the medical crisis, and improving wages and working conditions were not accepted.

The Seoul National University Hospital Labor Union criticized, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is pushing a fake medical reform and has decided to reduce beds in tertiary general hospitals by 5 to 15%, and Seoul National University Hospital must reduce its beds by 15%. However, since public hospital beds currently account for only 9.7% of the total beds, further reducing them means destroying public healthcare."

They also stated, "Public hospital workers who treated 80% of COVID-19 patients had hoped for essential workforce reinforcement and improved treatment this time. However, due to the collective action of residents triggered by the confrontation between the government and doctors and the resulting medical crisis, hospital workers are trembling with wage and employment insecurity."

The Seoul National University Hospital Labor Union demanded Director Kim Young-tae of Seoul National University Hospital to "present measures to strengthen the role of the national central hospital and medical publicness, and to reinforce essential personnel for the safety of frontline workers and patients," warning that they will proceed with the strike if their demands are not accepted.