Hospital nurses, locked in wage negotiations with the government, walked off their wards Thursday afternoon charging that their demands for higher pay and improved working conditions “fall on deaf ears.”
It was the sixth job action by the nurses in recent weeks and is due to last from 2:30 p.m. local time Thursday to 7 a.m. Friday. The nurses said they would strike again from 2:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Haim Haberfeld, in charge of wage policy at the Finance Ministry, accused the nurses of refusal to consider offers made them. The nurses Minister, Shoshana Arbeli-Almoslino, a week or so of grace since she took over her post only on Moday. The nurses maintained that she was Deputy Health Minister “long enough to know the ropes.”
As in the previous walkouts, the nurses remained on duty for emergencies and continued to staff post-natal and dialysis facilities. They also provided special staff for Israel’s first liver transplant patient, Mira Schichmanter, who is recovering from surgery at Rambam Hospital in Haifa.
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