Nurses at the Lublin hospital Cardinal Wyszyński went on mass sick leave. The director explains this by the dispute over the amount of wages. – I deny it. My friends are really sick – says Anna Chilimoniuk, who works at the facility.
- A collective dispute has been conducted in the hospital for several months. Nurses and doctors want higher wages
- More than 70 nurses employed there went on a sick leave on Monday. Many treatments and surgeries have been canceled
- Subsequent employees decide to lay off work and look for employment elsewhere. The tension between the parties to the dispute is high
For several days, 73 nurses from the hospital at al. Kraśnicka in Lublin are on sick leave. It is difficult to carry out procedures or operations, because some of them were specialized in narrow areas and cannot be replaced by others.
Added to this is the fact that subsequent hospital employees quit their jobs and terminate contracts. They are not satisfied with low wages and heavy workload.
The problems are growing
«The staffing situation in the hospital has been very bad for a long time – nurses have quit their jobs. 6 months are already ongoing talks with the management, which did not respond to the alarms of both the Nurses ‘Union and the Doctors’ Union about the dramatic staffing situation. Now it is clearly visible what the tardiness in the operation of the hospital management led to…. There are not many female friends, they are notoriously exhausted, and the average age of nurses is similar to that of the rest of the country »- wrote doctor Katarzyna Pikulska, who is on duty there, on her Facebook profile.
Indeed, for months there has been a collective dispute between the unions in the hospital and the management. Staff wants to improve working conditions. – The problems have been growing for years and although we have been trying to talk for some time, not much is still going on – emphasizes Anna Chilimoniuk, vice-president of the Intensive Care Unit Trade Union.
Really sick
According to the director, the absence from Monday to Friday may be “caused by an ongoing collective dispute with the trade unions of nurses and midwives”. Chilimoniuk, however, refutes this suggestion: – My friends are really sick. Only so far, even if they got sick or something happened to their children, they were on duty and did not let go. There was a schedule set up and the one with radiculitis said she would take it because she felt a bit better so that another one with pneumonia could recover, ‘she explains.
She works in the intensive care unit herself and is narrowly specialized. If something happened to her, there is no one to replace her. – This reflects the way of thinking of the hospital management: a nurse should not be ill, but always be ready – says Chilimoniuk and adds that due to this approach, she feels dehumanized.
Unknown ideas
In postulates issued in the collective dispute, nurses expect, inter alia, salary increase to two gross national averages for those with a master’s degree. However, there is still no decision as to the rate hikes. – I know that the director has some ideas, but unfortunately he does not share them with us – emphasizes Chlimoniuk.
It expresses the hope that the unions will be introduced to the management’s plans in the near future. The parties to the dispute are to meet on May 25.