The Regional Directorate of the Portuguese Nurses Union (SEP) announced, on Friday, the 22nd, the intention of nurses in the Algarve to go ahead with a strike if the Local Health Unit (ULS) in the Algarve does not schedule a meeting with that class. of health professionals.
The SEP had already accused on Wednesday, the 20th, in a statement sent to newsrooms, the current Board of Directors of ULS do Algarve of continuing “to not want to meet and resolve the problems of nurses at ULS Algarve”.
According to the SEP, despite the requests for meetings “already made” and the local initiative “Bridges instead of walls”, which took place on February 26th at the Hospital de Faro, the “problems are getting worse and the Administration continues to fail to demonstrate desire to resolve. This is the only way to understand the failure to schedule a repeatedly requested meeting”, the note reads.
“The current administration was appointed last November, as provided for by law and took full office in January 2024”, they recall.
“After three months, we still have not received any response to requests for meetings to resolve the problems experienced by nurses regarding: accounting of points for specialist nurses and managers promoted until 2011 (there are explicit guidelines from the Ministry of Health to resolve), withdrawal of rights and schedules unregulated – hundreds of hours of overtime work, lack of breaks between shifts that allow physical and psychological rest”, reads the note.
In the statement, the SEP reiterates the request for an “urgent” meeting to the USL Algarve Administration, also informing that, in parallel, they will “meet with nurses in the services”.
“If the meeting is not scheduled, we will decide forms of struggle that could lead to a strike”, ends the note.
