Cleaners and kitchen staff from Belchatow Hospital will start an indefinite strike on Monday, November 3. The action was called due to the fact that several people on sick leave lost their jobs. The women were workers with disabilities and part of the ZSP union in the hospital. The company servicing the hospital, which employs these women and about 100 other people in the hospital continued to cut staff and in all, 30 people lost their jobs. The rest of the workers decided to join the strike and on Monday, 140 people will walk off the job. The Director may have to evacuate the hospital.

The members of the ZSP union won their jobs back after the last service provider did not accept their transfer. They spent three months unemployed, occupying the hospital and protesting. Finally, a new public tender was held for the services and the women were rehired. However this company also is trying to cut the staff and force the rest of the workers to take on their tasks. The average working time in the hospital is 200 hours per month. Workers with disabilities are entitled to a 35-hour work week.

Various problems occurred when some people took sick leave or wanted to take leave for rehabilitation. (All of the women in the ZSP union have some sort of disability.) Although it is illegal to fire people on sick leave and people with disabilities must not be forced to do a lot of extra work and must be given time for rehabilitation, the price for doing so could be their job.

The workers are demanding:

* rehiring the fired workers

* reduction of working hours

* proper compensation for work in evening hours

* proper documentation of working time

* the right to take leave they are entitled to for rehabilitation

* safety clothes

They are also demanding to be hired directly by the hospital. They had previously been so and some had worked for the hospital for 30-40 years.

You can support the hospital by:

* picketing at a Polish embassy (and demanding the government stop the policies of outsourcing)

* sending a solidarity message or photo to the workers (is@zsp.net.pl)

* spreading information about the struggle

* sending an email (in any language) through the online form here: http://www.szpital-belchatow.pl/component/option,com_contact/Itemid,3/

* sending a protest through this form: http://soli.zsp.net.pl/protest-letter/emailpage/

* supporting the struggle financially

Donations can be sent to:

Jakub Gawlikowski

(PL) 05 1140 2004 0000 3702 4238 2269

BRE Bank S.A. Retail Banking, al. Mickiewicza 10, 90-050 Łódź

BIC/SWIFT: BREXPLPWMUL

SORT CODE: 11402004

Write: BEL