Mar. 3--PARAMARIBO, Suriname -- An already precarious situation in public hospitals in Suriname came under even more pressure on Tuesday, when nurses affiliated with the General Nurses Union in Suriname (ABVS), joined strike actions at the health institutions.

Workers from three public hospitals went on strike on February 18, demanding inclusion into a newly introduced salary scheme (FISO) for public servants and retroactive payment over the past 11 months.

In an invited comment on Tuesday, Lorenzo Irion, spokesman at the Lands Hospital, noted that, while the institution was last week running on half of its capacity, with the actions of the nurses, operations were further downsized to 20 percent of the hospitals capacity.

"We were forced to send more patients than last week home after consulting with their doctors. Only individuals who need urgent medical care are currently being admitted," said Irion. Several urgent surgical operations were performed Tuesday, he further noted.

"The perspectives are very gloomy and we hope that the government recognizes that this is a very precarious situation and prevent a total collapse of our services," Irion added.

Meantime, the nurses' union has vowed to continue its action until the leadership is invited by the government to discuss the issues. The government and hospital management are reluctant to recognize the union, since they are already dealing with the four unions representing all workers at the various public hospitals.

Leaders of the established union called on their members not to join the strike of the nurses' union since this umbrella organization is not being recognized by the government and the hospitals. Health Minister Celsius Waterberg told reporters last week that the strikes were also the result of competition between the several unions.

Workers at the Psychiatric Hospital Suriname in a meeting Tuesday agreed to announce on Thursday whether they will join the industrial action or not since the management of this institutions met some of their demands. According to reports, among other things, a bonus that was long overdue was paid on Tuesday.

The unions claim that authorities are taking too long to adjust the salaries. Meanwhile, the Academic Hospital Paramaribo, over the weekend completed the administrative requirements to implement the new wage structure, while Lands Hospital completed this task in 2009. Finance Minister Humphrey Hildenberg has indicated, however, that he has no money to finance the extra salary costs for public health workers.

According to officials, the back pay over the past 11 months alone will cost around US$18 million. Union leaders will meet with the Finance Minister this week to look into several options how to execute the payments.

Meanwhile, stakeholders in this dispute were summoned by the Suriname Mediation Board, which is mandated to handle conflicts between unions and employers, to a meeting scheduled for Tuesday evening.

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