Hospital staff decide to end their strike

Hospital staff decide to end their strike

Thousands of Hong Kong hospital workers on Friday decided to end a strike which had gone on for five days, with most of the members of the new union behind the industrial action voting to go back to work.



The Hospital Authority Employees Alliance is demanding a complete closure of Hong Kong's border with the mainland due to the coronavirus crisis, adequate protective equipment for staff, and a promise that Hospital Authority bosses will not seek retribution against staff who walked out.



But in a vote on the next course of action, around 3,600 alliance members opted to end the strike, with 3,000 voting for it to continue.



Alliance chairwoman Winnie Yu said she was announcing the decision not to continue the walk-out with a heavy heart, but it was a decision reached via a democratic process.



Hundreds of union members had spent the day occupying the authority's headquarters on Argyle Street, despite warnings from officials that the striking staff were taking part in an unauthorised gathering.



Health authorities stated repeatedly during the week that the strike, involving frontline doctors, nurses and assistants, was seriously affecting patient services.