Garrahan Hospital workers began their strike on Wednesday at 7 a.m. to demand salary increases from the Javier Milei administration. They are asking for an initial salary of AR$1,800,000 (around US$1,500). They will also hold a charity festival to mark the day.

The general assembly ratified the strike for June 25. “It’s a response to the war the government is waging against the country’s main pediatric hospital ,” declared Alejandro Lipcovich, general secretary of the ATE Internal Committee.

The representative of the Garrahan state workers questioned the fact that Javier Milei himself, far from rectifying his position, ratified “the outrageous things his officials have been saying, including blatant lies.” He gave an example: “They said that administrative staff are the majority, when they represent only 10% of the total, according to official statistics from an institution whose management has been controlled by the government since December 2023.”

He also criticized the president for maintaining “the aberration that a salary above $380,000 would exceed the poverty line” and proposing “that nursing homes should be unpaid, which would completely dismantle the public health system.”

“While Garrahan staff are achieving milestones in public health with starvation wages, the government-appointed counselor (Jorge Menehem) has just ceased to be an honorary member and is now receiving a gross salary of nearly 6 million pesos. They are the worst kind of people, and on top of that, they are working to destroy public health,” Lipcovich added.

You may be interested in: Conflict at Argentina’s top children’s hospital: residents dispute new salary raise from government

For Gerardo Oroz, assistant secretary of ATE Garrahan, Milei and Lugones’ plan is to “empty Garrahan and dismantle the healthcare system.” However, he asserted that “they are encountering a major obstacle,” which is “their workers’ fight for wages and working conditions, which has garnered unprecedented support.”

Regarding the central issue of the demand, he summarized: “Our demand for a starting salary of AR$1,800,000 is equivalent to defending the hospital. Therefore, the struggle will be intensified. We demand an end to the delaying tactics and a concrete proposal from the government and authorities.” 

To support their demand, the workers will hold a festival from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. with artists performing in solidarity.
Originally published on Ámbito