Health workers report for work despite calls for strike

A majority of health workers in Liberia have turned up for work, despite the call for a strike amid the Ebola outbreak.

The National Health Worker's Association's (NHWA) had plans to hold the strike last Monday (the 13th). The association's Secretary-General George Williams said the government had placed health staff under "duress" to work, but the government said it had simply requested that the workers be reasonable.

Nurses and medical workers in Liberia threatened to go on strike over a dispute over a monthly risk fee paid to those treating Ebola cases. Members of the association had said they would not report for work unless the increase in the risk fee was met. The NHWA called for an increase of approximately US $200, from what is currently less than US $500. On average, a Liberian health worker's salary is between US $200 and US $300.

In addition to the raise in fees, the health workers also want personal protective equipment and insurance. The government replied, however, that the scale of the epidemic means it now cannot afford the amount originally agreed upon.

Liberia agreed to pay US $700 per month when the first cases were confirmed in Guinea in March because there were only two treatment centres and far fewer health workers involved, says Liberia's Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah. As the epidemic spread, however, the increase in resources needed to combat the disease placed "a huge financial burden of the state," he said.

Minister Nyenswah had said earlier that a strike would have negative consequences on those suffering from Ebola, adding that it would also be detrimental to the progress already achieved against the disease.

Liberia is one of the worst countries affected by the disease, with more than 4000 deaths so far. Around 200 health workers are known to have contracted Ebola in Liberia. Over 90 health workers have succumbed to the infectious disease.

by Kevin Andrews & Cassendra Doole

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