(Health Korea News / Yoo Ji-in) The Seoul National University Hospital labor union, which had announced an indefinite strike on the 31st, reached a provisional agreement with management and withdrew the strike on the 24th. This is the result of the acceptance of five key demands, including preventing the reduction of public hospital beds, strengthening the public nature of medical care, prohibiting passing responsibility for management deficits, recruiting essential safety personnel, and increasing real wages. As a result, the labor and management of Seoul National University Hospital achieved the result of concluding a collective wage agreement in 2024 without a strike.
The biggest achievement cited by the union was preventing the reduction of public hospital beds. The medical reform pilot project being promoted by the government includes a plan to reduce the number of hospital beds to prevent crowding at tertiary general hospitals. Seoul National University Hospital, located in the metropolitan area, had to reduce its hospital beds by 15%. In a situation where public hospital beds, including Seoul National University Hospital, are only 9.7% of the total number of beds, public hospital beds, including Seoul National University Hospital, are further reduced, and even the role and function of public hospitals are reduced, putting public healthcare at risk of retreat.
The union gave meaning to this provisional agreement, saying, “Through the struggle of Seoul National University Hospital workers, we achieved the result of protecting hospital beds and public medical care not only at Seoul National University Hospital but also at all public hospitals.”
A union official said, “Through the collective wage negotiation struggle last year, we reached an agreement to continuously research and review systems and policies to reduce the burden of hospital costs for child patients and make written recommendations to the government, but as system improvements were not achieved, we have to do this again this year as last year. “We have reached an agreement to submit a proposal to the government within 2025,” he said.
Through this agreement, the union once again confirmed the consensus between labor and management on reducing hospital costs for child patients and provided an opportunity to make efforts to ensure that free medical care for child patients is realized in the future.
The government announced a plan for a ‘pilot project related to nursing work’ to fill the gap in doctors caused by collective action by medical residents. As a result of this pilot project, some of the nursing staff in the ward were converted to clinical support nurses. However, problems arose, such as not recruiting nursing staff to fill the positions left for PA nursing staff. The union said, “In order to resolve this problem, we have resolved the shortage of nursing personnel in the ward after the medical crisis and protected patient safety by reaching an agreement not to include medical support nurses in the nursing grading system manpower standards.”
The medical care support nurse system introduced to replace doctors’ work lacked proper training courses and legal protections, and the scope of work was wide and ambiguous, leaving the system exposed to the risk of various medical accidents. In relation to this, the labor union reached an agreement to prohibit medical support nurses from instructing or performing medical treatment outside their scope of work and to have the hospital directly resolve any problems that arise.
A union official said, “The struggle of the Seoul National University Hospital branch was a joint struggle with the Medical Solidarity Headquarters. It is the result of a persistent struggle with the Medical Solidarity Headquarters to prevent the reduction of beds in public hospitals, demand the expansion of public medical schools, and strengthen the public nature of medical care.” He explained. He continued, “Although there are some regrets, the workers at Seoul National University Hospital will continue to fight together with the members of the Medical Solidarity Headquarters for a hospital where both patients and workers are happy and safe.”
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Source: www.hkn24.com
