Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 10) — The Philippine Consulate General in New York expressed support for Filipino-American nurses in the city who joined the massive strike of over 7,000 health workers to demand better working conditions.
READ: Key takeaways from the New York nurses strike
The consulate issued the statement on Tuesday after thousands of nurses at two major New York hospitals — Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan — staged a walkout over staffing shortages and long hours of work with insufficient pay.
“When New York City became the epicenter of the pandemic in the spring of 2020, our kababayan nurses stayed true to their oath to care for the sick and the dying, sometimes at the expense of their very own lives,” the consulate said.
It called for a mutually acceptable resolution to the strike and said all dispute resolution avenues must be exhausted to recognize the “indispensable role” of nurses at the forefront of patient care.
“For their compassion, dedication, and selflessness, their call for better employment terms and conditions should be heeded,” the office said.
According to a CNN report, both New York hospitals criticized the nurses for going on a strike.
The hospitals said the nurses’ union walked out of negotiations, refusing to accept the 19% pay hike offer agreed to by other hospitals in the city.
The health workers interviewed by CNN maintained their major complaint is understaffing. They argued that it has affected patient care quality, with some picketers chanting “Safe staffing saves lives.”
