Hospital workers’ union demands wage increase they deserve

Kyoto— A hospital branch of the Kyoto City municipal workers’ union negotiated with employers of the Kyoto City Hospital to demand a wage increase and better working conditions on January 28th. Workers of the hospital were no longer municipal employees since Kyoto City separated the hospital from its municipal operations in 2011, but they argued the hospital had to pay them in accordance with the pay scale for municipal workers.

During lunch break, they held a rally in front of the hospital’s secretariat office. Chanting slogans, such as “No more passion exploitation!” and “We deserve a pay raise!”, they marched through hallways in demonstration.

In the collective bargaining, the union requested that the employers increase wages in accordance with the pay scale for municipal workers, pointing out that the current financial difficulties of the hospital, which managers cited as the reason for not raising wages, were their responsibility, not workers.

Together with its hospital branch, the Kyoto City municipal workers’ union will ramp up negotiations and other actions, calling for a wage increase and better working conditions for hospital workers.