"It is with anxiety and anger that we are following the events in
Pirogov Hospital, the largest hospital in Bulgaria.
It is already difficult enough to protest in this country, but in
recent days we have been facing unprecedented repression against the
Bulgarian Nurses' Union (SBMS) and its branch in Pirogov.

To better understand the Bulgarian context, let us specify that ALL
the hospitals here have the status of commercial companies and their
priority is therefore to generate profit! The salaries of health staff
depend on the number of patients treated in each hospital. They are
therefore paid by the target, which has led to a large number of bad
practices and even corruption. All hospitals in Bulgaria, including
private hospitals, are publicly funded, but the criteria for
allocation and expenditure are unclear and there are no legal controls
to ensure that the funds are used correctly. This form of management
has, over the past decades, turned many doctors and hospital directors
into millionaires, while other workers in the sector are paid
miserable wages, lower than the average wage in Bulgaria. It is for
these and other reasons that nurses have been working for more than a
year under the motto :
"Health is NOT a commodity, it is a matter of national safety and
common law! Savig lives and caring for people is our goal. Not profits!"

Demonstrations and strikes in the health sector have been going on for
over a year. From this wave of protest and in the face of the
immobility of the existing unions, a new autonomous union was born:
the Bulgarian Nurses' Union (SBMS). The union, which is also composed
of midwives, physiotherapists and stretcher-bearers, is fighting for
decent wages and working conditions, as well as for an end to the
trade in human health from which we all suffer.

A few months ago, Pirogov's director tried to disrupt the creation of
a SBMS branch in his establishment by launching disciplinary
proceedings against the branch president, Boyka Anastasova. Today, the
management is using unworthy and desperate actions to crush the rebel health workers.
A signal has been made to the police against the main organizers of
the SBMS, who have been summoned and questioned. From the questions
asked, we understand that the police are the last mediator of ‘social
dialogue’. It determines which union is "legal" and which is not. It
turns out that they have the right to ask for lists of union members
and to decide which claims are legitimate, calling the rest "blackmail"
against respectable employers....
We were already used to the use of law enforcement to intimidate
dissidents, but this attack against women health professionals is just
intolerable! We will protect our friends and colleagues of the SBMS by
any means necessary. We call on the public to react to this outrageous
situation!
We demand the immediate suspension of Pirogov Hospital Director Asen
Baltov! Police officers who have violated the Constitution and acted
arbitrarily must be suspended from duty and investigated!
We call on trade unions in Europe and worldwide to take a position on
this case and to protest against the repression of Bulgarian health
professionals!

Solidarity, struggle, dignity!"

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