Global Courant 2023-05-03 13:16:00
SEOUL – More than 10,000 South Korean community doctors and licensed nursing assistants went on strike on Wednesday in protest of a nursing law they say would hurt their jobs even as it improves nurses’ wages and working conditions.
The bill, which passed in parliament last week, was primarily designed to help nurses, who suffered from burnout and a dwindling talent pool as they fought on the frontline against Covid-19.
But doctors see the bill as an opening for nurses to provide treatment without a medical license, while nursing assistants say it would expand jobs for registered nurses at the expense of theirs. They urged President Yoon Suk-yeol to veto the bill and lawmakers to rewrite it.
An official in Mr Yoon’s office said it would decide after discussions with medical groups and the ruling party.
More than a dozen groups organized the strike, including the Korean Medical Association, which represents all doctors in South Korea, but did not specify the number of participants.
The Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association, the largest nursing assistant group, said about 10,000 members have joined.
The impact of the strike was considered limited as most protesters used their holidays or reduced opening hours in the afternoon and major hospitals were operating normally.
But the groups said they would go on a general strike across the country on May 17 if their demands were not met, most likely causing disruptions to a medical system already badly hit by the protracted battle against Covid-19.
“The law should be fair and sensible,” Dr. Lee Pil-soo, president of the Korean Medical Association, told reporters on Tuesday, asking the government to make a “fair, reasonable” decision.
The Korean Nurses Association, which has pushed for the legislation, says nurses have long been exposed to hostile work environments and abuses, and the bill would help provide better health care without harming the interests of doctors and assistants.
The health ministry, which has played a mediating role between doctors and nursing groups, accused the main opposition party, the Democratic Party, of using its parliamentary majority to pass the bill.
Officials expressed concern that the gap between medical staff could derail their collaboration and undermine the health system.
The ministry said on Wednesday it has asked larger hospitals and clinics to extend opening hours and maintain 24-hour emergency services. REUTERS
