PHM-Exch> People's Health Dispatch Bulletin #19: A rising tide of health workers' strikes

[Jyotsna Singh]

Dear all,

Here's the 19th issue of People's Health Dispatch. It carries a detailed
interview of PHM's new Global Coordinator Dr. Roman Vega on the challenges
that health movements face globally and people's struggles to fight for a
better and equitable world. Happy reading and watching!
Bulletin #19: A rising tide of health workers' strikes
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/bulletin-19-a-rising-tide-of/>
By People's Health Dispatch – 19 Feb 2022 – View online →
<https://peoples-health-dispatch.ghost.io/bulletin-19-a-rising-tide-of/>

This fortnight

Protests and strikes by health workers all over the world have marked the
first couple of months of 2022. Reacting to long-standing issues in the
health system and rampant inflation, health workers in Turkey
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/19/turkish-health-workers-intensify-protests-amid-soaring-inflation-and-poor-working-conditions/>continue
to persevere in their struggle for fair working conditions in spite of
being ignored and oppressed by the government.

Nurses, physiotherapists, lab workers, pharmacists and other health workers
have organized strikes in Sri Lanka
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/07/sri-lankan-health-workers-launch-strike-over-pay-disparities/>,
Slovenia
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/19/health-workers-in-slovenia-go-on-strike/>,
and Australia
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/17/nurses-in-australias-new-south-wales-strike-over-wages-staff-shortage/>as
well. They all ask to be treated and paid fairly, and to receive
much-deserved recognition for their efforts during the pandemic.

Health workers are fighting for better health systems for all. However, in
many places their appeals and warnings are still not taken seriously. The
Norwegian government insists on its plan to shut down the country’s largest
emergency hospital in Oslo
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/15/protest-mount-against-norwegian-governments-plan-to-shut-down-ulleval-hospital-in-oslo/>,
despite opposition from patients and workers.

On the international level, rich countries continue to avoid serious
discussions about equitable access to Covid-19 medical products. Notably,
the EU
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/19/european-union-prefers-corporate-profits-over-the-health-of-people-across-the-world/>
insists on its nominal commitment to vaccine equity, but keeps the TRIPS
waiver proposal at arm’s length, protecting Big Pharma’s interests.

European leaders are still throwing sand in the public’s eyes as they come
up with alternatives to the version of the waiver requested by more than
100 co-sponsors at the WTO. This was the case with their statements during
the EU - AU Summit in Brussels, as well as with their work in a small group
of WTO members discussing a geographically limited application of the TRIPS
waiver
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/19/twist-in-trips-waiver-negotiations-raises-eyebrows/>
.

One of the rich countries’ arguments against the waiver is an alleged
deficit of production capacities in the Global South. Yet, recent reports
show that countries in the Global South are equipped to support the
pandemic response. More on this in *Data Speaks*.

In our video interview <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRYHCtC0s5o>, we
meet Roman Vega, new Global Coordinator of the People’s Health Movement, to
discuss what lies ahead for health movements in 2022.
------------------------------

*Turkish health workers intensify protests amid soaring inflation and poor
working conditions <https://tinyurl.com/phd19Turkey>*

The Turkish Medical Association (TMA) and other health workers’
organizations organized country-wide industrial actions on February 8. This
is part of a wave of workers’ uprisings against rising living expenses and
soaring inflation

*European Union prefers corporate profits over the health of people across
the world
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/19/european-union-prefers-corporate-profits-over-the-health-of-people-across-the-world/>*

By showing reluctance on the patent waiver on COVID-19-related products
even after the majority of its population is vaccinated, the EU leadership
has once again taken the side of Big Pharma and perpetuated vaccine
apartheid

*Twist in TRIPS waiver negotiations raises eyebrows
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/19/twist-in-trips-waiver-negotiations-raises-eyebrows/>*

A small group of WTO members has been discussing a watered-down version of
the TRIPS waiver, which would leave most of the Global South’s production
capacities unused
------------------------------
Short reads

*Health workers in Slovenia go on strike
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/19/health-workers-in-slovenia-go-on-strike/>*

Members of the three largest healthcare trade unions in Slovenia joined a
strike of warning for fairer remuneration and professional equity in the
sector

*Nurses in Australia’s New South Wales strike over wages, staff shortage
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/17/nurses-in-australias-new-south-wales-strike-over-wages-staff-shortage/>*

Thousands of nurses and midwives went on a day-long strike in Australia’s
most populous New South Wales State to protest stagnating wages and unsafe
staffing conditions

*Sri Lankan health workers launch strike over pay disparities
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/07/sri-lankan-health-workers-launch-strike-over-pay-disparities/>*

Health workers in Sri Lanka have been staging demonstrations and strikes
since November last year to draw attention to the issue of salary anomalies

*Protest mount against Norwegian government’s plan to shut down Ullevål
Hospital in Oslo
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/15/protest-mount-against-norwegian-governments-plan-to-shut-down-ulleval-hospital-in-oslo/>*

The Norwegian government has been pushing its plan to shut down the
country’s largest emergency hospital located in the city, overriding the
Oslo City Council’s opposition and disregarding appeals from the city’s
residents
------------------------------

*Video: The clarion call of Health for All!
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRYHCtC0s5o>*

Roman Vega, Global Coordinator of People’s Health Movement, talks to
Peoples Dispatch about the achievements and the challenges faced by the
movement in 2021, the path ahead and major priorities.
  <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nRYHCtC0s5o>
------------------------------
Data speaks
------------------------------
In case you missed it
Six African countries to begin making mRNA vaccines as part of WHO scheme
Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia first countries to
be assisted by global mRNA hub
The Guardian•Peter Beaumont
<https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/feb/18/six-african-countries-to-begin-making-mrna-vaccines-as-part-of-who-scheme>
IBFAN calls for immediate halt to an unethical formula study in Uganda and
Guinea-Bissau | Baby Milk Action
Baby Milk Action•prundall
<http://www.babymilkaction.org/archives/32708?s=08>
Pfizer’s 2021 Revenue Nearly Seven Times India’s Health Budget | NewsClick
Pfizer has recorded a whopping 140% jump in its revenues between 2020 and
2021. While many poor countries still await vaccines for their population,
Pfizer opportunistically chose to largely cater to the high-Income
countries.
NewsClick•Richa Chintan
<https://www.newsclick.in/pfizers-2021-revenue-nearly-seven-times-indias-health-budget>
UP Elections: Without Any Help from Govt, Covid Widows Struggle to Make
Ends Meet | NewsClick
Thousands of families across the state stand no chance of getting the
compensation simply because people did not have access to healthcare and
hence, can not produce “evidence” of death due to COVID-19 infection.
NewsClick•Tarique Anwar
<https://www.newsclick.in/elections-without-any-help-govt-covid-widows-struggle-make-ends-meet>
China, Not COVAX, Led Vaccine Exports To The World’s Middle Income
Countries In 2021 - Health Policy Watch
While China’s rigorous management of virus risks at home has received
considerable attention, particularly as it hosts the 2022 winter Olympics,
it’s massive
Health Policy Watch•Xiaoyi Wang
<https://healthpolicy-watch.news/china-covax-led-vaccine-exports-lmic-2021/>
Australia’s aged-care crisis spirals out of control, healthcare unions
blame government : Peoples Dispatch
Close to 650 deaths have been reported from Australia’s aged-care centers
since the beginning of this year. Staffing shortage is believed to be the
primary cause of the current crisis
Peoples Dispatch•Anish R M
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/09/australias-aged-care-crisis-spirals-out-of-control-healthcare-unions-blame-government/>
7 months after her arrest, Shatha Odeh’s case is emblematic of Israeli
attack on Palestinian civil society : Peoples Dispatch
Shatha Odeh is the director of the Health Work Committees (HWC), one of the
main providers of health services in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Her imprisonment and military trial resemble yet another frustrating
spectacle of an inherently discriminatory Israeli judicial system against
the Pale…
Peoples Dispatch•Shirin Odeh
<https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/02/07/7-months-after-her-arrest-shatha-odehs-case-is-emblematic-of-israeli-attack-on-palestinian-civil-society/>
*People’s Health Dispatch is an initiative of Peoples Dispatch and the
People's Health Movement*
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