South Korean PM Asks Nurses And Medical Officers To Cancel Work Strike Plans

JAKARTA - South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo asked nurses and medical workers to cancel the strike which is scheduled to take place on Thursday (29/8).

South Korean PM said the government was making every effort to improve their working conditions.

Reported by ANTARA from Yonhap-OANA, Tuesday, August 27, the Korean Health and Medical Workers Union, which consists of 30,000 nurses and medical workers from 61 hospitals, voted on Saturday to support strikes and demand improvement in their working conditions.

The move was taken amid heavy pressure as thousands of interns have stopped working since February in protest against health reforms planned by the government.

"The government understands the difficulties you face and we fully agree that this needs to be improved, but we cannot approve extreme measures such as strikes," Han said at the meeting.

"If the union continues to strike, the impact will be fully felt by the community and patients," he said.

Han explained the steps that the government has taken to improve the working condition of nurses, including encouraging the enactment of laws that expand the role of nurses.

"The South Korean government will conduct a survey in October to determine the working conditions of medical personnel and draw up improvement steps," said Han.

"I ask you to solve the problem through dialogue and compromise," he said, asking workers for support for the health reform plan.

Han also asked workers to cancel the strike action plan in the interests of their patients and family who had suffered from the intern strike for a long time.

"If a strike is still carried out, essential medical services such as emergency and severe patient care will continue to run in accordance with applicable laws," he said.

Han also promised to relieve public confusion by immediately informing the public which hospitals will participate in the strike.