Thousands of Healthcare Workers Go On Strike In South Korea
Written by Nathan Matsko
Photo by Martha Dominguez de Gouveia on Unsplash
South Korea’s recently-passed legislation aimed at improving the working conditions of nurses in the country is proving to be more controversial than initially intended.
The Nursing Act seeks to increase the pay nurses receive, as well as clarify exactly what their roles should be within healthcare. This legislation was passed in response to criticism of the also recent Medical Services Act, which nurses claimed increased their workload exponentially.
Though the changes made through the Nursing Act have been welcomed by a majority of nurses in South Korea, other healthcare workers-namely doctors and nursing assistants-have major problems with the changes the bill would make to the structure of the country’s healthcare system, allowing nurses to provide services independently of doctors and other support staff.
The Korean Health and Medical Workers Union (KHMU) has come out in support of the legislation. The Seoul-based Union, which has at least 80,000 members including a wide range of medical professionals from around the country, recognizes why others within healthcare are opposed to the bill.
“They claim the new law expands the role of nurses”, says Kang Yeon Bae, Public Relations and Information head at KHMU. “They are concerned that their own roles will be violated.”
As a result, thousands of doctors, nursing assistants and a plethora of others in the medical profession went on strike earlier this week, with further acts of protests being planned in the near future. Organizations such as the Korean Medical Association–which is comprised of doctors- and the Korean Licensed Practical Nurses Association--which represents thousands of nursing assistants– helped to stage the initial strike. At least 10,000 members of these groups took part in the demonstrations.
Despite the large numbers, the nature and timing of the strike did not result in notable disruptions in any major hospitals or clinics. Further demonstrations, however, may not be so subtle.
A larger, general strike planned by the same organizations is scheduled for May 17th, should their concerns continue to go unaddressed. While the demonstrations Wednesday mainly took place outside of normal operating hours, the general strike would have a significant impact on everyday operations.
Those involved have urged South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol to veto the bill once it reaches their desk, though officials within the President’s cabinet have stated that a decision such as that would be based on talks with medical groups and ruling party officials. KHMU believes that the President will veto the bill in the end.
Nursing as a profession worldwide has been rocked by a variety of factors, including burnout from the Covid-19 Pandemic and a lack of proper pay increases to coincide with the increases in their scope of work. A report by the International Council of Nurses in January of last year estimated that the world ‘could be short’ by 13 million nurses come 2030.