health and medicine
News and articles about work, policy and workers' struggles in hospitals and pharmaceuticals around the world.
Manchester nurses strike for Karen Reissman
Nurses today began a rolling strike after their union leader was sacked for speaking to the media.
More than 150 staff, who care for 1,000 seriously-ill psychiatric patients, are on picket lines across Manchester and say they will not return to work until senior nurse Karen Reissmann is reinstated.
The strike follows the decision of Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust bosses to sack Ms Reissmann on Monday.
700 health workers to strike in defence of their union rep
700 health workers, mainly nurses, will be out on strike again for 3 days Wednesday 31st October, Thursday 1st November and Friday 2nd November.
UNISON members who work for Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust are protesting about the ongoing suspension of their branch chair and national health executive member, Karen Reissmann.
Manchester nurses continue strikes in defence of suspended colleague
Manchester mental health UNISON members will be on strike again on Thursday 18th, Friday 19th and Monday 22nd October.
This coincides with the disciplinary hearing for their branch chair, Karen Reissmann. There will be a mass lobby of the hearing Thursday 18th October 8am, at the Trust’s headquarters (Chorlton House, 70 Manchester Rd, Chorlton, Manchester M21 9UN) where the disciplinary hearing will take place.
In a statement, UNISON said:
France: medical interns strike over conditions
Interns across the country have gone on strike demanding that the government withdraw new laws on their freedom of movement.
15000 interns nationwide demonstrated on Friday to further publicise their strike. In Paris 1000 interns blocked traffic at the Place de la Bastille and held a symbolic jog under the banner "American jogging for an american health service" In Strasbourg and Lyon they gave blood. Protests were held in all major cities.
Midlands: health boss to get pay increase while workers face pay cut
Hospital workers in Leicestershire were shocked and outraged by the news that interim Chief Executive for the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Derek Smith, will be paid £100,000 for three months work. Meanwhile, Wolverhampton healthworkers face a pay cut.
- but they weren’t surprised.
UNISON, who represent 5,500 healthworkers in Leicestershire, described the decision to pay Mr Smith such a huge amount of money as “an insult to the commitment and dedication of ordinary healthworkers”.
NHS Trust sets date for Reissmann disciplinary hearing
Talks between UNISON and Manchester’s mental health trust broke down on Monday (Oct 1st) when the Trust announced they will hold a disciplinary hearing for Karen Reissmann, a trade union activist, in 2 weeks time.
Striking nurses lobbied their board last Thursday and were told their trust had “made approaches to Unison Regional Centre regarding ways of halting the industrial action”. When they met yesterday (Monday) UNISON regional officers were merely informed that the trust was to convene a disciplinary hearing for Karen the week beginning 15th October.
Norfolk hospital workers could strike
Dozens of cleaners, porters, and catering staff at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital are voting this week on whether to take strike action as a dispute over pay threatened to boil over.
If given the go-ahead, the move would affect 44 workers, who are members of the union Unite, who are employed by the private contractor Serco. Angry staff claim they are missing out on the same pay and benefits that there NHS employed counterparts receive. They are campaigning for the company to introduce a system similar to the NHS's Agenda for Change scheme, in which wages were reconfigured.
Ivory Coast: Medical strike enters ninth day
The all-out strike, with no minimum service, continues, leaving hospitals practically deserted.
The strike was originally called by the Ivory Coast senior medical workers union (Synacass-ci) in relation to yearly pay negotiations. Currently a doctor receives a salary of 173000 CFA Francs (£180), the Ivory coast is suffering from major price increases, especially of staples. For example the price of 12kg of cooking gas has risen from 3500 CFA Francs to between 4500 and 5000.
Manchester mental health staff strike again
After a similar strike just over two weeks ago, hundreds of mental health workers in Manchester are going on strike for a second time today in a row over the suspension of union official, Karen Reissman.
Reissmann, a psychiatric nurse, was suspended in June for allegedly bringing Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust into disrepute.
The union Unison said she was suspended for speaking out against job cuts and government policies. The NHS trust has said it is a private employment matter. About 700 workers staged a similar three-day strike last month.
Privatisation by the back door: The health workers’ strike and the future of medical care in Poland
Laure Akai analyses the neoliberal reforms to Poland's health service as the doctors' strike enters its fourth month.
Some hospitals have given up the strike, some hospitals are concluding private deals with doctors. Nurses have organised separately from the doctors with a slightly different agenda. And it well may turn out that the results of the strike are strikingly different salaries for health care workers throughout Poland and increased privatization of the health care industry.
