News

News

Legal action to stop health sector strike
A patients' rights movement yesterday appealed to a big health sector trade union to put off its proposed strike and warned that public and legal action would be taken if the strike plan was carried out.

A spokesman for the National Movement for the Rights of Patients said it was making an urgent appeal to the Health Sector Trade Union Alliance comprising more than 50 unions to put off its strike planned for Tuesday.

The NMRP spokesman said that at a time of the dengue and flu epidemic in which some 35 people have died and some thousands afflicted it would be an act of crass if not criminal irresponsibility to cripple public hospitals.

The HSTUA said last week that it would call out tens of thousands of its members for a full-scale strike in protest against the government's delay in rectifying salary anomalies, especially for provincial health workers.

The NMRP spokesman said that even if the HSTUA's demand was valid, there was no justification for a strike which would heap more suffering on thousands of poor and innocent patients.

The spokesman said that if the HSTUA decided to go ahead with the strike, the NMRP would launch mass public-agitation while also taking some legal action.

Top

Back to News