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Nurses who Opposed Healthcare Privatization Arrested
Salvadoran police in Ahuacahpán and Santa Ana arrested eight members of
the nurses’ union, SIGEESAL, on September 4th. They were arrested in their
homes, public hospitals and clinics where they worked. SIGEESAL is a member of
the Salvadoran Union Front (Frente Sindical Salvadoreño-- FSS).
The arrests were in relation to SIGEESAL’s participation in a July 6 work
stoppage organized by another union in San Vicente. There, the union organized
a walkout beginning July 2nd. Workers from the National Hospital of Santa
Gertrudis and other public health centers protested the privatization of health
services, severe shortages of medicines in public health clinics, and the misuse
of funds by Regional Public Health Director, Manual Abarca. Several branches
of SIGEESAL participated, including representatives in 3 departments in western
El Salvador , and at Hospital Rosales, San Salvador ’s main public hospital.
On Monday July 9th, the General Director of Hospital Services, Dr. Alcides
Urbina signed an agreement stating that he would investigate corruption and
embezzlement accusations in San Vicente and in the Western Region. He also
agreed to respect the Unions right to organize and protest. He agreed to
eschew reprisals against workers and union officials who participated in
the mini-strike.
Union representatives consider the arrests of the eight union leaders a reneging
of that assurance. Ana Luz Ordoñez Castro, Mirian Ruth Castro Lemus,
Elsa Yanira Paniagua, Noemí Barrientos de Pérez, Ana Graciela
de Carranza, Jorge Emilio Pérez, Manuel Trejo Artero y Anemias Armando
Cantadeiroare charged under the new Anti-Terrorist legislation; the law anti
Acts of Terrorism and the Special Law Against Organized Crime. Earlier
in July, fourteen anti-water privatization protesters were arrested charged
under the same law.
The arrests and charges against these union workers are especially disconcerting
given that in September, El Salvador ratified the International Labor Organization
(ILO) conventions 87 and 98 which protect the right to organize and to collective
bargaining.
SIGEESAL is recognized for its campaign opposing the privatization of public
health services. After years of persistence, the union only recently gained
its legal recognition.
The eight arrestees were released on September 9th and will face trial
at a later date.
History Repeating Itself
In September of 2002, thousands of doctors went on strike and supportive Salvadorans
took the streets to protest the privatization of public healthcare services.
The STISSS healthcare workers union coordinated a series of marches, known
as White Marches, where protesters donned white garb in solidarity with nurses’ white
scrubs. The marches proved pivotal in preserving hospital access for thousands
of poor Salvadorans. According to the UN, over 40% of Salvadorans live on less
that $2 per day. Without free public clinics, many would not otherwise be able
to afford a doctor.
The 2002-3 doctors’ strike was provoked by several proposals made by
the National Association of Private Business to privatize healthcare. On October
17, 2002 the Legislative Assembly passed a decree guaranteeing state-provided
health care. Nevertheless, today they have started the process of decentralization
once again. President Antonio Saca’s government continues pushing
for the privatization of water and health care services.
Salvadorans have already seen their Salvadoran Banking system, electricity,
and telecommunications privatized with little improvement in the quality of
those services. However they have seen an increase in the price of those
services.
