Unionised workers at Seoul National University Hospital to strike starting Oct 31

Seoul : Unionised workers at Seoul National University (SNU) Hospital, one of the country's biggest hospitals, have decided to launch an indefinite walkout beginning on October 31 in protest of the government's health care reform and poor working conditions, sources said on Saturday.

The union made the decision in a meeting amid botched talks with the hospital on its call for maintaining the number of hospital beds, improving working conditions and raising pay for members.

The union blamed the government for attempting to destroy the public health care system by reducing the number of beds at tertiary hospitals, including public hospitals such as the SNUH, and failing to improve working conditions for employees at public hospitals, reports Yonhap news agency.

The union plans to launch the strike unless the hospital accepts its call to reinforce the public health care system and hire more personnel for the safety of workers and patients.

The government earlier decided to raise the medical school seats by 1,500 for 2025 as part of its plan to increase the number of students by around 2,000 over the next five years or so to address the shortage of doctors.

Thousands of trainee doctors have been absent from their workplaces in the form of mass resignations since February, with the medical community calling for discussions on the agenda to start from scratch.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Cho Kyoo-hong said the government is ready for talks with doctors if they propose a debate on medical reform. Cho made the remarks after a debate between the government and medical professors at Seoul National University (SNU) last week, focusing on the medical reform aimed at increasing the number of medical school freshmen.

"While the government and SNU's emergency committee were unable to narrow their differences during the session, it was significant that discussions have begun in an effort to find a solution," Cho said.

Thousands of trainee doctors have been absent from their workplaces in a form of mass resignation since February, with the medical community calling for discussions on the agenda to start from scratch.