Hadassah workers protest
Photo: Ofra Engel
Hadassah workers threaten walk-out
After court agrees to freeze legal proceedings against ailing hospital, workers fear lay-offs, threaten to abandon hospital if January salaries are not transferred immediately
The workers of the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem announced they will abandon the hospital if they do not receive the second half of their January salaries, in an additional escalation in the fight over the hospital's future.
According to the announcement made Saturday night, the hospital workers will leave only small teams and will operate only in life threatening situations.
Hadassah's Woes
Medical staff turn down offer for partial pay for next three months, demand hospital pay malpractice insurance and pension contributions.
"They have already taken thousands from every worker here," Hadassah nurses' union head Ilana Cohen said. "The workers are not the management's ATM machine, they came to work for the entire month and they deserve their wages."
The Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) which runs both the Hadassah-University Hospital in Ein Kerem and Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus, asked a Jerusalem Court for a freeze of legal proceedings against its NIS 1.3 billion budget deficit.
The court authorized its request, and gave it a stay 90-day stay against its creditors, but the hospital workers – from nurses to doctors to administrators – have expressed concern that the move would lead the hospital to back-out of collective contracts governing its relations with workers, as well as paying salaries, and could push them to fire workers in breach of collective agreements reached between the HMO and workers unions.
As part of the freeze, the workers will not receive their full pay. "High earners" will make 85% of their salary and those earning "little" will get 95% of the wage, a hospital statement claimed.
In addition, the statement said, 15 workers would be laid-off every three months and social benefits will be cut for all hospital workers.
The current compromise being offered by the hospital's management as part of the recovery plan for the hospital offers the workers 40% of their January salary as an advance on their February salary, and then again in February for March, and so on.
The offer inspired anger among the workers. "This is an important issue currently topping the social priorities of Israel," said Avi Nissancorn, head of professional unions at the Histadrut Labor Federation. "The government must intervene to find a solution for the crisis in Hadassah immediately."
