Arta General Hospital cleaning staff demand stable employment

Cleaning staff at the Arta General Hospital are demanding full-time employment and stable contracts. During a visit to the hospital, Nikos Exarchos, a Member of Parliament for the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), met with workers in the surgical, pathological, and maternity clinics, as well as administrative services.

The workers reported that despite covering permanent and continuous needs, they have been working under successive contract renewals for ten years. They currently work six-hour shifts with monthly earnings of 650 euros and are seeking eight-hour shifts and indefinite-term contracts. The staff highlighted their contributions during the pandemic and expressed concerns regarding job insecurity.

Exarchos criticized the underfunding and understaffing of the National Health System (ESY), linking these issues to state policies that treat healthcare through the lens of cost-benefit analysis. He pledged to bring their demands to the attention of Parliament.