Nurses were scheduled to work on a reduced Shabbat schedule in protest of shortage of caretakers, increase in patients.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHman in hospital bed with nurse 311(photo credit: Ariel Jerozolimski)
The nationwide one-day warning strike by nurses scheduled for Sunday has been postponed to Monday, the Histadrut labor federation announced on Friday morning. This was achieved following discussions with the Treasury, the Health Ministry and the Nurses Union.“We will give the negotiations a chance,” the labor federation said. Additional talks will be held on Sunday.The union had planned to strike on Sunday to protest against the nurses’ heavy load in the health system’s community clinics and hospitals. The nurses planned to work according to a reduced Shabbat schedule and intended to include not only the hospitals and clinics but also the family health (tipat halav) centers, district heath offices and schools.Nurses Union chief Ilana Cohen maintained that her colleagues were “collapsing” due to the severe shortage of nurses and rising number of patients.“The situation is a catastrophe. This is an impossible situation that harms the quality of care for all Israelis. I feel I have the obligation to sound the warning bell. If no solution is found, the situation will just get worse,” she said.
