“A sea of balloons for fair demands” was the motto that brought together, this morning, April 19, about two dozen members of the Portuguese Nurses Union (SEP) in a protest with the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve, in Faro.
One thousand white balloons, stamped with the message “Apoio os Enfermeiros”, were distributed by union members at the Figuras Leisure Park, to demand the valorization of the work and career progression of these health professionals.
"We are here for the appreciation of all nurses, for the fair progression that was promised, either by the president of the ARS Algarve, or by the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve, still in 2019. And, therefore, we have about 500 nurses waiting to progress to the second position of their career», stressed Nuno Manjua, SEP director, speaking to the Sul Informação.
"As if that wasn't enough, now the University Hospital Center of the Algarve had a meeting with nurses from Lagos and said that those who had already progressed, in September 2019, will regress from second to first position," he added.
According to Nuno Manjua, CHUA says "it is being pressured by the Ministry of Health to take this decision."
However, «what counts is the commitment made between Centro Hospitalar do Algarve and the nurses. The center has the technical autonomy to make the decision and, therefore, we have to hold them and the Ministry of Health accountable. Apparently, they think that nurses who have an individual employment contract are worth less than colleagues who have an employment contract. work in public functions'.
“For us, the bond doesn't matter when it comes to providing care for patients, whether Covid or not Covid. And, therefore, the valuation is more than fair, regardless of the bond», stressed the union leader.
Working to fight the pandemic for over a year, some nurses are now faced with a problem: the regularization of precarious links.
«We have about 100 nurses in the Algarve with a contract for another 4 months and for an uncertain term, who run the risk of, after the pandemic, being thrown out, which is unacceptable. The Algarve already had a shortage of nurses, even before the pandemic, and now the needs have increased. Colleagues are perfectly integrated and, therefore, what we want is for them to become a permanent contract», stressed Nuno Manjua.
“Nurses are in the front line, only their salaries are in the back line”, he concluded.
Photos: Rúben Bento | Sul Informação
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