MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

Amed – The first Covid-19 case in Turkey was reported in March 2020. Lockdown measures have been stretched after the distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines. Despite vaccination, the working conditions of health care workers haven’t changed; they still carry the heaviest burden during the Covid-19 pandemic. For two years, they have suffered from violence, low wages, mobbing, burnout, and stress. The health care providers have demanded more livable working conditions.

“People still stay away from us”

Nurse Aynur Kor, also a member of the Health and Social Services Workers' Trade Union (SES), spoke to NuJINHA about challenges faced by women health care workers since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Stating that women health workers are most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, Aynur Kor said, “Women health care providers have worked hard at hospitals while they have struggled not to infect their families or children with coronavirus. Health care workers have problems and difficulties in their social life. People, including our relatives, still try to stay away from us. At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, we faced such things more. People didn’t stay where we were.”

“Health care workers feel extreme tiredness”

Stating that people have gotten used to the condition of the Covid-19 pandemic over time, Aynur Kor said, “This condition has become a lifestyle for them, but not for us. The health care workers have been infected with coronavirus many times but they have to keep working. They have suffered from work overload. When one of them is infected with the coronavirus, other health workers are affected by this because they have to work long hours. Sometimes, we have to work for 24 hours. Therefore, health care workers have suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome because we always feel extreme tiredness. This affects both our family life and social life.”

“They didn’t fulfill their promises”

Emphasizing that the Ministry of Health promised them to improve their working condition, Aynur Kor said, “But they didn’t fulfill their promises. The health care workers have still suffered from work overload, mobbing, low wages, and violence.”

“We demand more livable working conditions”

Speaking about the demands of health care workers, Aynur Kor said, “The biggest problem faced by the health care workers is that there is no place to leave their children when they go to work. We have difficulties finding a kindergarten to leave our children. We have been paid very low wages. We work for hours. The government can hire new health care workers to solve this problem. Violence against health care workers should end. We demand a more livable wage rise.”