Nine nurses in Chiapas are in delicate condition after launching a hunger strike May 1 when negotiations with state health authorities went off the rails.
The strike, the second in two months by Chiapas nurses, is to call for the reinstatement of laid-off coworkers, payments to suppliers and the resupply of the medical clinics where they work.
They claim the state government failed to live up to the agreement made after the first hunger strike, which came to an end April 15.
The striking nurses have set up their camp once again at the entrance of the Rafael Pascacio Gamboa hospital in the state capital of Tuxtla Gutiérrez.
Spokeswoman María Espinoza reported that the health of her colleagues is “delicate,” and that all are showing the effects of “wasting syndrome,” with symptoms such as weakness, stomach pain and headaches, nausea, diarrhea, blurry vision and others.
Two of the striking nurses have had to receive special attention due to the severity of their symptoms, she said.
The Chiapas Interior Secretariat said there has been progress towards meeting the protesters’ demands, and asked the nurses to end the strike.
According to the state Health Secretariat, 15 workers have already been reinstated and more than 50 million pesos have been paid to the state employees’ housing fund Fovissste.
The Finance Secretariat said payment agreements had been signed with 32 of the 37 suppliers with which it is in arrears, and that payments to the nurses’ retirement funds will be made in no more than 18 months.
So far, 80% of the state-run pharmacies have reportedly been resupplied.
Source: Mexico news daily
