A vital 24-hour healthline backed by the Ministry of Health was virtually shut down on Saturday (January 4) due to a strike by the nurses running the service.
The nurses, who are protesting against wage cuts and unfair dismissals, said the strike caused great disturbance to the service provided by ‘Linha Saúde 24’, which reflects the discontent among workers.
A press statement from the nurses read: “We stopped (working) so that we can move forward … we will never give up our dignity and the fight against dismissals and humiliation.”
LCS, the company that won the concession to operate the healthline, is accused by the nurses of “coercion” and of “threatening” to sack them if they don’t accept the wage cuts proposed and choose to protest – a move they claim is illegal and is putting at risk the quality and the credibility of the service.
The nurses claim work supervisors were even answering the phones after staff cuts – “just to keep the service running” – which goes against “strict proceedings”.
Attempts by the nurses to negotiate employment contracts and better work conditions have allegedly been dismissed by the company.
The healthline – 808 24 24 24 – is run by more than 350 nurses offering general healthcare advice and a pre-hospital screening service from call centres in Lisbon and Porto and receives on average 3,000 calls a day at this time of year.
The nurses now hope to be heard by the Ministry of Health and the Authority for Work Conditions.
