French workers protest lack of provisions at hospitals

Unions such as the CGT, Workers Force and CFTC are raising the issue of the shortage of personal protective equipment and other basic necessities, as well as the reduction in the number of beds in some hospitals

May 05, 2020 by Peoples Dispatch
Workers Protest-France
Unions including CGT, Workers Force(FO) and CFTC denounced the lack of necessary provisions at medical facilities in France.

French trade unions, including the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), are staging a series of protests over the lack of basic provisions at medico-social establishments in the country. As of May 5, 169,462 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in France and 25,201 people have died. However, despite the severity of the crisis, the lack of basic provisions and supplies has been reported from several medical establishments across the country, exposing those on the frontlines to the pandemic.

Under the circumstances, a mobilization by the staff of the Vinatier psychiatric hospital protesting the closure of beds, which began in the third week of April is gaining momentum and spreading to other areas. On May 5, Tuesday, around 50 staff members took part in a demonstration on the hospital campus. The staff have also called for another mobilization on May 7, Thursday.

Unions such as the CGT, Workers Force (FO) and CFTC have denounced the behavior of the management of the Vinatier hospital, which, since the beginning of the lockdown, has been reducing the number of beds available. The unions organized protests on April 28, April 30, and May 1.

The CGT wing of L’Aigle hospital, in a press release on April 26, had denounced the “shortage of linen and clothes” at the establishment risking the lives of the staff as well as the patients. The CGT calculated that there is an urgent need for at least 650 sheet masks at the hospital which would cost around 3,000 euros.

A survey conducted by the CGT Federation of Health and Social Action from March 30 to April 6 had revealed that the staff at various health, social and medico-social establishments in France, both in the private and public sector, is facing an acute shortage of masks. 83.19% of the employees who were surveyed said that they lacked personal protective equipment.