150,000 hospital workers strike in Netherlands

By Abdullah Asiran

UTRECHT, Netherlands (AA) - Around 150,000 hospital workers went on strike Wednesday in the Netherlands.

Employees across the country answered the call of The Netherlands Trade Union Confederation (FNV) as 83 hospitals and 32 polyclinics stopped providing health service for one day, except emergency conditions.

FNV said more than 1,000 medical operations and 10,000 appointments scheduled for Wednesday were delayed.

Workers are demanding better working conditions and a 5% rise in salaries.

Demonstrator Ernst Granneman told Anadolu Agency that workers went on strike because working conditions are unendurable.

"The wages in the heath sector are currently frozen. We will continue protesting till we get what we want on the table," said Granneman.

Another protester, Gerda de Brouwen said nurses are doing a lot of work but there are not enough workers to provide adequate services.

"If it is not solved, there will be no nurses in the future and that is something that we do not want," de Brouwen added.

* Writing by Fatih Hafiz Mehmet in Ankara