Nurses end strike after agreement with Minsa and CSS
The lifting of the work stoppage occurs after having presented to the Nurses Assembly the agreement reached with Minsa and CSS.
The president of the National Association of Nurses of Panama (ANEP), Ana Reyes, reported that the Assembly of Nurses decided early this Friday to lift the stoppage measure that they had maintained since last Wednesday, April 28.
The lifting of the work stoppage occurs after having presented to the Nurses Assembly the agreement reached with the authorities of the Ministry of Health ( Minsa ) and the Social Security Fund (CSS), after a meeting that lasted for more than 10 hours.
“It is 3:30 am we have just finished the Extraordinary Assembly and we inform you that in a meeting held with the authorities of the Ministry of Health and CSS we have managed to reach an agreement which has been signed, agreed with the points that we present and where the authorities have taken responsibility for complying and consequently after having presented the agreement to the Assembly, this great Assembly decided to suspend the strike measure that we had established for 48 hours”, indicated the president of ANEP.
As agreed, the 1,376 nurses appointed in the public health system to attend the State of National Emergency, as a result of the Covid-19, will be transferred in a staggered manner to a permanent roster, in addition there was consensus on the payment of recognition of scale wage.
Agreement reached by the Minsa, CSS and the nurses
According to the proposal, the transfer table to permanent payroll in a staggered manner would be as follows and would be subject to the economic viability of the entities:
- 2021: Permanent appointment of 150 to 200 nurses (a minimum and a maximum), which would be 11% to 15% until the end of December.
- 2022: Permanent appointment of 275 to 550 nurses, which represents 17% per year and a maximum of 40%.
- 2023: Appointment to permanent from 275 to 550 patients equivalent to a minimum of 20% per year and a maximum of 40%.
- 2024: Appointment to permanent from 275 to 550 nurses; that is, 20% per year and a maximum of 40%.
- Establish specific dates for the payment of expired terms of the scale of the specialists of the previous years (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020), starting in 2022.
The MINSA indicates that from June to September the amount owed can be quantified and will be paid as proposed by the nursing committee who will present the report to the minister to identify with whom it will start and the approval of the Ministry of Economy and Finance will be sought.
The actuarial situation for the payment of extraordinary work shifts will be evaluated in order to enforce compliance with Decree 178 of May 27, 2019.
It is worth mentioning that the work stoppage was initiated by the nurses from 7:00 am on Wednesday, April 28, to demand a response from the authorities regarding the payment of specialties, expired terms, extra shifts and permanent appointment of the contracted nurses during the State of Emergency.
BACKGROUND
On Monday and Tuesday of this week the nurses held days of protests, and on Wednesday they began a 24-hour work stoppage nationwide. They demanded payment of specialties, expired terms, extra shifts and permanent appointment of the nurses hired during the State of Emergency.
That same night the ANEP and Minsa met reaching some consensus, for which a draft of proposals was prepared, which was later presented by the president of the association to the assembly of nurses, however they were not satisfied and decided to extend the strike of labor for 48 hours while the negotiations continued.
The high point that prevented the signing of an agreement was related to permanent hiring. The Minsa proposed for this year the permanent hiring of 10% of the nurses, but the ANEP bases demanded a higher percentage, 33%.
The lifting of the work stoppage occurs after having presented to the Nurses Assembly the agreement reached with the authorities of the Ministry of Health ( Minsa ) and the Social Security Fund (CSS), after a meeting that lasted for more than 10 hours.
“It is 3:30 am we have just finished the Extraordinary Assembly and we inform you that in a meeting held with the authorities of the Ministry of Health and CSS we have managed to reach an agreement which has been signed, agreed with the points that we present and where the authorities have taken responsibility for complying and consequently after having presented the agreement to the Assembly, this great Assembly decided to suspend the strike measure that we had established for 48 hours”, indicated the president of ANEP.
As agreed, the 1,376 nurses appointed in the public health system to attend the State of National Emergency, as a result of the Covid-19, will be transferred in a staggered manner to a permanent roster, in addition there was consensus on the payment of recognition of scale wage.
Agreement reached by the Minsa, CSS and the nurses
According to the proposal, the transfer table to permanent payroll in a staggered manner would be as follows and would be subject to the economic viability of the entities:
- 2021: Permanent appointment of 150 to 200 nurses (a minimum and a maximum), which would be 11% to 15% until the end of December.
- 2022: Permanent appointment of 275 to 550 nurses, which represents 17% per year and a maximum of 40%.
- 2023: Appointment to permanent from 275 to 550 patients equivalent to a minimum of 20% per year and a maximum of 40%.
- 2024: Appointment to permanent from 275 to 550 nurses; that is, 20% per year and a maximum of 40%.
- Establish specific dates for the payment of expired terms of the scale of the specialists of the previous years (2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020), starting in 2022.
The MINSA indicates that from June to September the amount owed can be quantified and will be paid as proposed by the nursing committee who will present the report to the minister to identify with whom it will start and the approval of the Ministry of Economy and Finance will be sought.
The actuarial situation for the payment of extraordinary work shifts will be evaluated in order to enforce compliance with Decree 178 of May 27, 2019.
It is worth mentioning that the work stoppage was initiated by the nurses from 7:00 am on Wednesday, April 28, to demand a response from the authorities regarding the payment of specialties, expired terms, extra shifts and permanent appointment of the contracted nurses during the State of Emergency.
BACKGROUND
On Monday and Tuesday of this week the nurses held days of protests, and on Wednesday they began a 24-hour work stoppage nationwide. They demanded payment of specialties, expired terms, extra shifts and permanent appointment of the nurses hired during the State of Emergency.
That same night the ANEP and Minsa met reaching some consensus, for which a draft of proposals was prepared, which was later presented by the president of the association to the assembly of nurses, however they were not satisfied and decided to extend the strike of labor for 48 hours while the negotiations continued.
The high point that prevented the signing of an agreement was related to permanent hiring. The Minsa proposed for this year the permanent hiring of 10% of the nurses, but the ANEP bases demanded a higher percentage, 33%.