Recognition, salaries, recruitment… These midwives have been on strike for 10 days in Rouen
Through Mathieu Normand
Published on
“Ras le col”, can we read on one of their signs. Friday, October 8, it had been more than ten days since the midwives of the Mathilde clinic were striking. Present at a new day of national mobilization the day before in Paris, they are fighting locally to obtain an increase in their salaries, more human resources, but above all recognition of their profession.
“The parents settle in liberal”
“In 10 days we only got the start of negotiations this morning,” says Camille Verdier, one of the midwives on strike. She is outside with most of her colleagues. Others cheer them on from the window. They were requisitioned by the prefecture for emergency deliveries. The other patients are transferred to the hospitals of Rouen, Elbeuf and Le Belvédère. This redirection of flows to different establishments causes “an impact at the regional level”, assures Anne-Claire Héquet, also mobilized.
The demands of these midwives are close to those brought to the national level. The profession was disappointed by the salary increases announced by the government for the public sector, or at the Mathilde clinic “we earn less our living than in the public”, said Camille Verdier. “We are also in a context of understaffing. People go to settle in liberal. “
In addition to the level of remuneration, the pace and workload, with “increasing skills”, show a decline in the attractiveness of the profession. Some realize it earlier and earlier. “Many students stop the course because of the intensity of their studies and internships,” reports Mélanie Léger, also a midwife at the Mathilde clinic. There are gateways to reach medicine. There are also conversions. “
“Changes are necessary”
The professionals at the Mathilde clinic want above all to be associated with the organization of care, which is a significant part of the recognition. “We want to be able to say that whether it is safe or not, whether the activity is too busy or not,” emphasizes Camille Verdier.
After a summer “spent understaffed”, Anne-Claire Héquet underlines the consequences on patients: “We prioritize safety, but suddenly we have less time to spend with patients. The women tell us: “Thank you for doing the maximum. We guarantee their physical integrity, but we can see that there are psychological consequences. Some women at work feel left out.
“There is a real subject which is national”
Faced with this long strike, “difficult for everyone”, the director Eric Jarlaud also says a priority of “patient safety” and recognizes “a real substantive subject”. “We feel a difficulty in the world of care since the Covid,” he says. We opened a box with all the difficulties. There is a real subject which is national and in particular on midwives. “
He cites in particular, like the professionals in the sector, the inventory carried out by IGAS, a report on 109 pages on remuneration and working conditions. “Changes are necessary. On the critic not. We totally agree. “But he also emphasizes not to“ fix the cursors ”. The IGAS report suggests in particular an increase in the remuneration of midwives. A “sticking point” for the management and even an “endless debate” where the two parties “do not have the same vision”.
Determined not to let go
“We all have a base salary, that of the convention, them like us,” says Eric Jarlaud. By being in the course of this agreement, we would not be in the market price. We wouldn’t have anyone. “According to him,” difficult to go further without state aid “after” a year 2020 prepared by the crisis and irregular activity “.
It’s hard to imagine the Mathilde clinic without its maternity ward, around which it was built and has won the loyalty of its patients. The “care project” is also an asset to be put forward according to management in the recruitment phase that has begun. Yet for midwives, “there is an emergency”. “We wanted to alert the hierarchy because mid-November arrives the first departures of our colleagues. On will be half of the salaried workforce. We start from 30 full-time equivalents to arrive at 15. ”
“We have never been at fault so far,” replies Eric Jarlaud. I’m not saying it’s easy. If one day we are, we will make our decisions with our partners: ARS, Elbeuf, CHU and Belvédère. He hopes to find volunteers for a vacation. “It’s an everyday fight and we’ll get there together. A new negotiation meeting is scheduled for Monday morning after three unsuccessful meetings on Friday. The midwives are determined to continue the strike, the notice of which runs until October 29, until they have obtained satisfactory progress. They will be in front of the establishment on Monday at 7:30 am with colleagues from the CHU and Belvédère in support.
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