“Abused staff, patients in danger”, anger rumbles at the general clinic
This Tuesday, May 24, all the departments of the Annecy general clinic were affected by a strike by its staff. At the center of the claims: a plummeting purchasing power because of too low wages in a city deemed expensive.
“Private clinic, mistreated staff, patients in danger“. A slogan seen on a banner Tuesday, May 24 in front of the general clinic of Annecy, on strike.
“Out of 300 people, we are a hundred on strike. Not just nurses or caregivers: our movement affects all services“Explains Marion Nigon, spokesperson for the clinic’s staff collective.
“We have been sounding the alarm since July last year. But we are not heard by the owner of the establishment: the group “Vivalto Santé (the third group of hospitals and private clinics in France. Editor’s note)”.
According to the staff gathered collectively, since last year, working conditions have continued to deteriorate. Lack of staff (in some departments two nurses instead of seven in normal times), canceled holidays (this was the case for the last Christmas holidays), or staff recalled from vacation to make up for the lack of recruitment for job left vacant.
It is this last argument that the management puts forward to justify the excessive workload of the personnel.
“In Annecy as elsewhere, we are unable to recruit“, explains Caroline Desaegher, the communication director of the group “Vivalto Santé”.We have opened twenty-three positions for recruitment. We’ve been looking for months. On the same put a hiring bonus of 2,000 euros. We tried to take advantage of the 1% housing to encourage candidates to come forward: nothing helps“, we are sorry for the management.
Apparently insufficient arguments to weigh in the balance, a fortiori when the proximity of Switzerland and its higher salaries tend to make it easy for French nursing staff to cross the border.
“3 years, even the Canadian health services come to recruit our French nurses“, explains Caroline Desaegher again.
During the CSE on Thursday, May 18, management therefore proposed a salary development plan, applicable from the end of May. 250 euros gross for nurses, 80 euros gross for caregivers and 300 euros bonus for employees with at least 10 years of seniority.
“We want increases for all categories of staffreplied the collective.Because not only are we overloaded with work, but in addition, in a city like Annecy which is not cheap, we are particularly underpaid; especially compared to our colleagues in public hospitals“, argues Marion Nigon.
Faced with the anger of its employees, the management therefore decided to requisition 29 employees and deprogrammed most of the appointments in the operating room through which 80 to 100 patients pass each day.
The Annecy general clinic has 296 employees on permanent contracts for 170 beds.