Link to this page: https://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/26141
Posted on 15 September 2017 at 12:04 GMT
Berlin hospital strike
The nurses, midwives, medical assistants and operating department practitioners of Charité hospital in Berlin have announced a strike starting on Monday 18th September.
Two years ago they went on strike for eleven days and fought successfully for an agreement on staffing levels in the hospital which set an example nationally (Germany: Indefinite strike for more staff at Charite hospital).
However the hospital management avoided effective improvements; they manipulated statistics and openly violated the agreement.
The nurses are still overworked. During the night 64% of nurses work alone on a ward. One in three nurses feels on a line of burnout. In Germany one nurse is responsible for 10.3 patients, one of the worst ratios in Europe.
The workers of Charité hospital and their union Ver.di are fighting for binding staffing levels and more personnel.
Please support the strike with messages of solidarity.
Send to: [email protected] (copy to [email protected]) and/or the facebook page of the solidarity alliance https://www.facebook.com/ver.di.charite.buendnis/
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Finance appeal
The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.
The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.
The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.
- The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
- When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.