The labor union at Seoul National University Hospital, which represents nurses, medical technologists and cleaning staff, said it will launch a full strike on Oct. 28 to demand the hiring of additional essential personnel. The union called for an end to a cycle in which chronic understaffing not only worsens working conditions but can also lead to patient safety incidents.
The union, a branch of the Seoul chapter of the Medical Solidarity Division under the Korean Public Service and Transport Workers' Union, held a news conference in front of the hospital's main building on Oct. 23. "Patient safety is under threat and workers' right to survive is being trampled," the union said. "We will begin a full strike on the 28th."
The union has held 16 rounds of collective bargaining and more than 20 working-level negotiation sessions since Aug. 4, but has failed to reach an agreement with hospital management. Staffing is the central issue in the talks. The union said conditions at the hospital have changed sharply since the collective action by trainee doctors and the government's restructuring program for tertiary general hospitals.
Workloads in testing rooms and wards have risen significantly as patient acuity increased under the restructuring program, the union said. On top of that, about 200 experienced ward nurses were reassigned as physician support (PA) nurses to fill the gap left by trainee doctors, pushing staffing shortages in general wards to a breaking point, according to the union. Lee Chae-yoon, a nurse who spoke at the event, said, "One ward nurse is caring for as many as 12 or 13 patients." Lee added, "If the condition of even one patient becomes unstable, the remaining 11 patients are left unattended."
The union also called for reform of unfair workplace rules, guarantees of real wage growth, a prompt transfer of oversight of Seoul National University Hospital to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and stronger support for national university hospitals. While oversight of national university hospitals has been shifting from the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Seoul National University Hospital remains under the education ministry. The union argued that unifying the management structure would strengthen public health care.
The union said it will disclose the number of participants on the day the strike begins. In a strike last September, about 700 of some 3,500 union members took part. The union said it will continue negotiations with management even after the strike begins.