Independent Force of Health Workers demands an audience at IMSS-Bienestar

Angels Cruz Martinez

The newspaper La Jornada
Wednesday, July 24, 2024, p. 12

At IMSS-Bienestar there are already two unions recognized by the Federal Court of Conciliation and Arbitration (TFCA), although only one managed, almost immediately, to have a meeting with the head of the organization, Alejandro Calderón Alipi, while the Independent Force of Health Workers has gone almost 15 days without a response to requests for an audience with the official, denounced members of this union.

In an interview, workers complained about the celerity with which the so-called National Union of Health Workers of IMSS-Bienestar (SNTSIB) –related to the National Union of Workers of the Ministry of Health– obtained the note, although it presented the documentation to the labor authority after them and was immediately recognized by the head of the decentralized public agency IMSS-Bienestar.

Furthermore, according to official information about that meeting in which Calderón Alipi said that the creation of the SNTSIB was A celebration for everyonethe representatives of that union requested their incorporation into the Governing Board.

When asked about this, members of Fuerza Independiente said they were unaware of the issue. We are interested in the authorities resolving the workers’ demands.among others, the regularization of people with Galene and Payroll 8 contracts, whose salary is half of what permanent employees receive and they lack economic and social benefits.

That is to say, their contracts are precarious, despite the federal government’s commitment to guarantee the rights of employees and the fact that they have been presenting their requests to the authorities for a year.

Through the area of ​​social communication, IMSS-Bienestar assured The Day that he has not received any official notification regarding the acceptance of another union nor any request to meet with the union.

Those interviewed said that after the TFCA gave them the notice, they began the affiliation of workers. In a second stage, it will be necessary to verify which union represents the majority. So far, Fuerza Independiente de Trabajadores de la Salud, with registration number 9/24, has a registry of almost 4 thousand members in Mexico City, Baja California Sur and Chiapas. The process is just beginning, they stressed.

Regarding the claims made to IMSS-Bienestar, they pointed out that since September 2023 they stopped receiving the Sunday premium payment without any explanation and the only response they have had is We are seeing itA similar situation occurs with payment for those who work on holidays. Some receive it incomplete and others nothing at all.they stated.

Another anomaly they reported is that in the appointments they were given when they were transferred from state services to IMSS-Bienestar, the documents lack essential data about their work day and schedules, which It means that we are at the disposal of the authorities.

They also stressed that they were able to access this information because they requested the appointment document and only the workers from Mexico City, Baja California Sur and Sinaloa have obtained it.