The new day of protest was called due to the direct impact of budget cuts on the hospital’s care.

On Thursday afternoon, workers, students, social activists, and human rights defenders will stage demonstrations in downtown Buenos Aires in support of Garraham Hospital’s health workers and doctors, who are demanding better wages after repeated failed negotiations with the administration of far-right President Javier Milei.

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“The new day of protest was called due to the ongoing wage crisis, the worsening of working conditions, and the direct impact of budget cuts on the hospital’s care,” said the Association of Professionals and Technicians of Garrahan Hospital (APyT).

The internal board of ATE Garrahan, the self-organized group Autoconvocados Garrahan, and unaffiliated professionals are demanding a starting salary of US$1,425 to halt the “wave of resignations” among staff. They claim more than 220 professionals have left the institution in recent months, threatening the ability of Argentina’s leading pediatric hospital to maintain operations.

In addition to wage demands, the groups are calling for “open channels of dialogue with health authorities,” noting that the Health Ministry has failed to attend meetings at the Labor Ministry. Since the beginning of the conflict, no meaningful negotiations have taken place. The lack of direct engagement has worsened tensions and fueled a growing sense of abandonment by the state.

The text reads, “This kid clearly expresses what Milei’s libertarian government is doing to the Garraham Hospital by defunding it. And he is very aware of the low salaries his doctors receive, who are also starved by Milei.”

The lead-up to Thursday’s protest has included a series of union-led and assembly-driven actions. The first measures began July 1 with a general assembly, followed by an open public meeting (Cabildo Abierto) on July 7. Subsequently, on July 10, workers held a strike that included a press conference and a massive symbolic embrace of the Garrahan Hospital.

This time, the protest will include Garrahan’s resident doctors, who will once again highlight their dispute with the Milei administration over wages, which currently consist of a base salary of US$634 and a non-salaried bonus of US$396. They are also criticizing the Health Ministry’s decision to offer residency positions through scholarship stipends for those entering national public hospitals.

Garraham Hospital staff will begin a 24-hour strike at 7 a.m., limiting care to emergency rooms and inpatients to ensure emergency coverage. The main demonstration will begin at 4:30 p.m., with an initial gathering in front of the National Congress, followed by a march to Mayo Square.

Dozens of unions, student groups, professional associations, and social organizations will take part in the protests. These include Health on the Move, the Workers’ Left Front (FIT), Nuevo MAS, the Buenos Aires Association of Psychologists (APGCABA), the Association of Licensed Nurses (ALE), the Argentine League for Human Rights, Free People from the South, Judicial Workers of Cordoba, Evita Movement, The Student Tide, and the FUBA Workers-Student Secretariat.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: InfoGremiales

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