Massive healthcare strike triggers ‘state of emergency’

All nurses on the patient wards on the country’s three hospitals are due to go on strike on Monday at 8am after failed salary negotiations.

The strike will involve all nurses, unit managers, functional managers and deputy managers at the following hospital wards:

The National Hospital

• A2

• A3

• B5

• B6

• B7

• B8

• G1

• G4

• P40/PI

• P40/PA

Klaksvík Hospital

• The KS-3 patient ward

Suðuroy Hospital

• The patient ward

“This is a necessary step,” says Óluva í Gongd, who heads the nurses’ union.

“We have shown great willingness to negotiate with the finance ministry regarding our salaries, but we are seeing no signs of cooperation from them.”

Óluva í Gong

Caption: 

Óluva í Gongd, chairwoman of the nurses’ union

She adds that the union expects to receive requests for exemptions for essential healthcare services and that these requests will be addressed on an individual basis.

“The nurses’ union has the financial means to continue the strike for up to two years if that’s what it takes.”

Healthcare system "paralysed"

Finance minister Ruth Vang says she is startled by the extent of the strike, saying it amounts to paralysing the entire healthcare system.

“I have never witnessed a healthcare strike as massive as this one. Now we just need to see which exemptions will be granted, but there is no doubt that this will trigger a state of emergency,” she says.

“These salary negotiations have been difficult. From our perspective, we are concerned about what will happen in future salary negotiations if the nurses’ union manages to get its excessive demands met by practically paralysing the entire healthcare system.”

Ruth Vang, Búskaparráðið, Várfrágreiðing, Framløga

Caption: 

Finance minister Ruth Vang

She adds that she feels under pressure as the Minister of Finance because if the nurses’ demands are met, it would have great ramifications on the entire labour market.

“For now, let’s see what exemptions are granted. But if we reach a point where lives are in danger, the government will intervene.”

Read the Faroese versions of this article here, here, here and here.

English version by prosa.fo.

More Faroese News in English.