Mexico: Over 40,000 Healthcare Workers Protest Ahead of Contract Vote - Left Voice
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Over 40,000 IMSS healthcare workers across Mexico are protesting for higher wages and adequate supplies, and against precarious conditions and union bureaucracy, ahead of a contract vote. In the capital, they’re joined by other unions, students, and community groups.

During a massive mobilization on October 13, more than 40,000 healthcare workers across Mexico denounced serious structural deficiencies in medical facilities, chronic shortages of medicine and basic supplies, and corruption within the institution’s management. They also demanded permanent contracts for medical and nursing staff hired during the pandemic. The protest comes ahead of a new contract vote today, October 14.

Chants directed at Rafael Olivos — leader of the SNTSS union, which represents workers at the IMSS — echoed through the streets, demanding that he effectively represent the rank and file’s demands during negotiations for a new contract. Workers also widely rejected the insufficient wage increase that Olivos agreed with the government behind the workers’ backs.

Banners and chants called for unity among workers, beneficiaries, and the general public to jointly defend public health and labor rights.

In Mexico City, the main gathering took place in front of the IMSS offices on Paseo de la Reforma, while a large contingent set out from the Siglo XXI Medical Center. Simultaneous mobilizations by IMSS workers took place in various states across the country, including the State of Mexico, San Luis Potosí, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Puebla, Oaxaca, Zacatecas, Morelos, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Veracruz, Nuevo León, and Sonora.

Unity of Workers, Students, and Beneficiaries

Contingents of students from the UNAM Faculty of Medicine and the National School of Nursing and Obstetrics (ENEO), as well as from health schools at the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN), actively joined the march.

These young people denounced the precarious conditions they face upon entering the healthcare system, noting that neither universities nor hospital institutions take responsibility for guaranteeing them decent wages or social security.

Healthcare beneficiaries, former patients, and the families of the sick turned out to support this struggle and express their gratitude and backing for healthcare personnel, highlighting the efforts of the workforce in the face of the system’s shortcomings.

At La Izquierda Diario, we express our solidarity with the IMSS workers who are reviving the militant tradition of the 1964 doctors’ movement — a movement that took to the streets to demand better working conditions and to oppose union bureaucracy.

Originally published in Spanish on October 14 in La Izquierda Diario — Mexico.

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