South Korea’s Health and Medical Workers Union announced on Saturday (8/24) that it will go on strike next week to demand improved welfare.
They are demanding a pay raise and the normalization of the country’s health system, which has been disrupted by a prolonged strike by intern doctors, union officials said.
The union, which has about 30,000 nurses and medical staff at 61 hospitals, said more than 91% of its members supported the strike plan.
If mediation by the relations committee fails, the union plans to launch a general strike next Thursday.
The union has urged hospitals to quickly fill medical staff gaps caused by a months-long interns’ strike and raise workers’ wages by 6.4%.
Some 12,000 medical interns have refused to work since late February in protest against the government’s plan to increase the number of medical students.
Union officials said nurses and essential health workers would continue to work under the rules if a strike were called next week. (Ant/Z-2)
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