“Disappointed and exhausted”.
These are the first words that come to mind for Ana Reyes, president of the National Association of Nurses of Panama (ANEP), when asked how feels after fighting on the front line against the pandemic.
During the toughest months of the coronavirus, Reyes and his colleagues faced long shifts and grueling conditions. Some died. They were not enough. And it says that they are only recognized “with unfulfilled promises”.
“They make us commercial and from the Presidency they thank us for the sacrifice. But thank what, if nothing is fulfilled? “, Reyes tells BBC Mundo.
The nurse refers to the members of the union to those who are still owed payment for fortnightly work or to those who were promised permanent contracts that have not yet been regularized.
In the last year and a half, the ANEP has organized partial strikes and demonstrations in front of institutional buildings protesting against “decades of deficiencies, unfulfilled promises and violations of salary agreements”.
In October, after one of the protests in Panama City with which they reached the gates of the Palacio de las Garzas, the seat of the Presidency, they were received by President Laurentino Cortizo Cohen, accompanied by the Minister of Health Luis Francisco Sucre, the Counselor Minister Eyra Ruíz and the director of the Social Security Fund (CSS) Enrique Lau Cortés.
“It is a privilege to serve you in the to the Presidency with open doors”, he told them, and highlighted their “hard work and commitment” during the pandemic and the vaccination process.
Ana Reyes has led the struggle of nurses in Panama to improve their working conditions.
After receiving it, it was agreed to appoint a technical table permanent dialogue with representatives of the union of nurses and representatives of the Ministry of Health (Minsa) and the CSS to find solutions, but Reyes says that to date there has been no significant progress.
BBC Mundo contacted the Presidency and the Minsa, but until the time of publication of this report they had not received a response .
First line
Like most countries, Panama needed emergency measures in the face of covid-24.
In the first months, “the crudest”, were hired more than 1. nursesand nurses to deal with the increase in infections and hospitalizations.
In the summer of 2020, Panama became the country in Latin America with the highest number of cases of reported coronaviruses per million inhabitants.
Y in January 675 suffered the worst wave, registering more than 3.500 daily infections.
In total, the Central American country accumulates as of January 2021 more than 7.300 deaths and almost half a million cases.
Members of the healthcare staff have worked strenuous shifts, first to save lives, and then to deliver vaccines as quickly as possible. A 70% from the residents of Panama already received the complete vaccination schedule.
“In many cases we have made shifts of 16 hours with up to seven fortnights of payment delays”, he tells BBC Mundo.
Demonstrations
At the end of April, the ANEP organized a strike of 24 hours to protest the situation of its members.
In addition to the delay in their payments, they also demanded the regularization of permanent contracts and the provision of adequate supplies.
“We carried out a national strike because we had no other choice. We could never make a total one because the first thing is to serve the population, but we reached this point because there were compañeras who did not finish paying. Meanwhile, we heard that the government was indebted with millions that it invested in the tourism sector“, laments Reyes.
The group had been denouncing the situation since August 2020.
“We have a law in Panama on nursing practice, which says that contracts must be permanent and not temporary, but that was violated ”, adds the president.
In total, according to Reyes, Panama has about 7. nurses. Six thousand work in the public system, where most of the problems they report are recorded.
In successive meetings over the last year, representatives of the government and the Ministry of Health have promised the nurses the payments and regularizations pending progressively until 1200 and respecting the seniority of the contracts, something that, according to Reyes, is not yet being fulfilled.
In addition, as in other countries , the Panamanian collective has mentioned in its demands the need to strengthen the national health system. They believe that the pandemic hit them hard due to endemic weaknesses and the urgency for reforms.
We claim all over the world
The demands of this Panamanian group are not isolated.
In several countries of the world there have been cases of protests and claims by health personnel.
In Spain, for example, in the last weeks of the year several photos accompanied by the label #yosoycontratocovid appeared on social networks.
It was almost 30.000 hired during the pandemic whose agreement expired last 31 of December, even though they think their work is It is essential given the increase in cases and hospitalizations that is taking place with the omicron wave.
This November, in Mexico, around 60 former health workers from the state of Oaxaca demonstrated in front of the National Palace in Mexico City to denounce that they were unjustly fired from their jobs despite the fact that they were at the forefront of medical care during the most serious months of the pandemic.
And in Peru, at the beginning of the year, hundreds of healthcare personnel demanded promised payments and improved working conditions.
The healthcare contract has been a challenge for governments and The pandemic exposed shortcomings in many health systems in the world.
And although at first a lot of extra help was needed, the progressive improvement in the epidemiological situation has once again left many health professionals without job security.
“Despite the media thanking us for our efforts, despite the fact that nine nurses died in their exercise, of all the compliments we receive, I must tell the President, on behalf of everyone, that we do not live on flattery and that the best What he can do for us is that he complies with what was agreed upon”, Reyes ends by saying about the situation in Panama.
“We are not demanding any increase, but rather that we be paid for what has already been worked on.”
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