Doctors and nurses from public hospitals, who this Saturday are celebrating the fifth day of the second phase of the general strike called by the Union Centrals, denounce that the Ministry of Health is replacing striking national doctors with foreigners and interns, a situation that puts lives at risk of patients.
The Secretary General of the Doctors’ Union, Miguel Sebastião, points to the Kilamba Kiaxi specialized general hospital as an example, where 16 Cuban doctors were placed this Wednesday.
At a time when healthcare professionals make up 50 percent of the workforce in hospitals, the union leader says that if the situation persists, even minimum services will be suspended.
For the spokesperson for the Central Unions, Teixeira Cândido, the attitude constitutes an act of irresponsibility and violates the strike law, which prohibits the employer from replacing workers in the strike phase.
The second phase of the strike, which began this Monday, will last until the 30th of this month, if the negotiating table is not returned.
The demands aim to update the national minimum wage in the order of one hundred thousand kwanzas, reduce the tax burden, update civil service salaries, reduce labor income tax and include worker representation in the management of the Social Security Institute.
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