Following, close to 700 members of KPTU-HeathSol employed at Seoul National University Hospital (SNUH) and Kyungpook National University Hospital (KNUH) took strike action and gathered on Seoul for two days of protests. On JKHMU members struck and participated in a rally in downtown Seoul. Unions, civil society organisations and large portion of the Korean public fear the government's plans will transform heathcare into a for-profit industry, destroying is function as a public service and a human right.Īfter preparing throughout the first half of the year, the KHMU and KPTU-HeathSol went on strike and carried out a series of protests between June 24 and June 28. The plan will also permit large hospitals to carry out merger and acquisitions. Since the end of last year the conservative Park Geun-hye administration has been pursuing a plan to allow non-profit hospitals to establish for-profit subsidiaries and expand secondary activities such as medical hotels and specialty treatment centres. "PSI stands with our Korean affiliates in their fight against privatisation and commend their actions." The business community know that people cannot live without health services and it is a huge market for the privateers. "The way President Park is trying to privatise public services in the health care sector, as well as in transport and other sectors, is very aggressive. "Quality public health care services ensure universal access to health for all. In her video message, Rosa Pavanelli said, "Defending public health care systems is one of the fundamental aims of Public Services International. KHMU and KPTU-HealthSol are affiliated to PSI and to the national center the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). The KCTU had planned to stage large-scale protest rallies in 14 cities and provinces across the country, including Seoul and Busan, as part of the strike involving about 500,000, or roughly half of its 1.1 million members, to bring labor issues to the fore in the runup to the 2022 presidential election.īut the actual number of strike participants is expected to be much smaller.PSI has sent a solidarity message from General Secretary Rosa Pavanelli by video, as has Candice Owley, President of Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals (AFT, USA) who is also a member of the PSI Executive Board and World Women's Committee. The exact number of participants in the rally was not available, though about 25,000-30,000 unionists were expected to join the protest in downtown Seoul, according to the KCTU. Police mobilized about 12,000 personnel and set up fences and bus walls in central Seoul to prevent the rally. Some of them scuffled with police trying to prevent them from moving to the rally site. and began marching toward Seodaemun Station, holding flags and banners calling for labor rights. The protesters affiliated with the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) poured onto the streets in downtown en masse around 1:30 p.m. 20 (Yonhap) - Unionists of a militant umbrella labor organization took to the streets in central Seoul on Wednesday as part of a one-day general strike, some of them clashing with police trying to block their march. (ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead UPDATES with information in paras 1-6 CHANGES photos)
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