ELWA, Paynesville – In a protest on Monday, October 6, doctors and nurses at the ELWA Hospital in Paynesville demanded that the hospital’s leadership immediately pay them long-overdue benefits and arrears.
According to the striking healthcare workers, the hospital has been taking money out of their paychecks for the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) but is yet to deliver the money. “We’re suffering here,” one protester bemoaned, calling the circumstances depressing and unfair.
The demonstrators claim that ongoing paycheck delays and purported pay inequalities have made their financial difficulties worse, and that arrears from the COVID-19 response are still repaid.
In their interviews with reporters, the employees cited unsafe working conditions for both staff and patients, as well as a lack of dependable transportation, such as buses and ambulances. Additionally, they argued that these difficulties are compromising the hospital’s capacity to provide quality medical care.
The most recent action is said to be the result of multiple attempts to engage with the hospital’s management that have reportedly failed. “Despite years of patience, nothing is changing. We can’t keep quiet any longer,” one nurse stated.
However, scores of hospital employees attended the calm demonstration, waving signs and expressing frustration at what they called years of disregard.
Some employees voiced concerns that if their complaints are not promptly addressed, the ongoing crisis may jeopardize patient care. Another employee questioned, “How do you expect us to give our best when our welfare is ignored?”
Although hospital officials were not accessible for comment at the time of the protest, management sources said that talks are still taking place to find a solution with the Ministry of Health and other pertinent parties.
Meanwhile, the facility’s patients had conflicting opinions on the demonstration. Some were concerned about possible disruptions in medical services, while others sympathized with the plight of the workers.
The demonstration coincides with larger worries about the well-being of Liberian healthcare professionals, many of whom have frequently voiced their dissatisfaction with low wages, long benefit delays, and unfavorable working circumstances.
The ELWA protest, according to observers, is a mirror of the nation’s healthcare system’s broader problems, which persist even after it has been at the forefront of crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ebola outbreak.
Although the duration of the demonstration is still unknown, workers have pledged to stay in action until their demands are met.
Photo credit: DN NEWS LIBERIA
Reported by” Prince Saah
