Staff of a large number of hospitals in Brabant stopped normal work from eight o’clock on Thursday. The strike will last 24 hours. Employees are demanding better wages, better agreements about schedules and better compensation for on-call services. In most of the hospitals, Sunday services are run, which means that only emergency care continues.
The care for hospitalized patients also continues. How many departments participate differs per hospital. According to hospitals, patients who had an appointment for Thursday that cannot go ahead have been informed in advance.
Staff of hospital Bernhoven in Uden, JBZ in Den Bosch, Elkerliek in Helmond, Anna Hospital in Geldrop, Maxima MC and Catharina Hospital in Eindhoven, Amphia in Breda and Bravis in Roosendaal, among others, are participating in the strike.
Sit on the floor
The actions take place in the hospitals, there are speeches and employees demonstratively sit on the floor to literally show how their employers’ organization, the Dutch Association of Hospitals (NVZ), is letting them down.
‘It really doesn’t work anymore’
Hospital staff have already gone on strike. For example, staff of the Amphia Hospital in Breda blocked the entrance to the hospital three times while sitting. That happened in February but did not lead to an agreement between the parties. Thursday’s actions are a follow-up to put more pressure.
Nurse Jessica Swijnenburg is one of the people who will take action on Thursday. She finds it increasingly difficult to pay her bills. And sometimes that just doesn’t work. A problem that also plays a role with her colleagues in the Amphia Hospital in Breda. She is campaigning for more salary and a better travel allowance: “Because it really isn’t possible anymore.”
Health insurers
The unions demand more wages than the NVZ offers. She also wants a higher compensation for on-call services and better agreements about schedules.
Ad Melkert, chairman of the NVZ, wants the Ministry of Health and health insurers to contribute money to raise wages. Hospitals say they can’t cough up the pay rise. Care minister Kuipers said at the end of February that he will not respond to Melkert’s call.