jared laurels
Newspaper La Jornada
Sunday, February 6, 2022, p. 6
José Antonio Vital Galicia, a social fighter for more than four decades, died yesterday at the age of 63 in Mexico City, a victim of biliary cancer. The death was confirmed by the Alliance of Health Workers and Public Employees, an organization that he coordinated and from where he led a tireless fight
for social security, workers’ rights and trade union democracy.
From the first week of December 2021, Antonio Vital remained hospitalized at the 20 de Noviembre hospital of the Issste for a tumor in the bile ducts, detected in August of that year.
The basification and professionalization of 86 thousand employees in the health sector; the restructuring of Fovissste mortgage loans and the strengthening of medical and social security services were some of the demands that Antonio Vital kept in force since the alliance.
▲ The union leader died of biliary cancer.Photo Alfredo Dominguez
Likewise, he supported the struggles against the privatization of medical services and demanded accountability and transparency of the Issste housing fund, which amounts to 22 billion pesos, since – he assured – only half is distributed among workers.
Antonio Vital was a leader of section 14 of the National Union of Workers of the Ministry of Health (Sntsa). In 1976 he participated in the movement for wage equalization and equality in working conditions for all the personnel in the sector, which was achieved in 1985 with the wage equalization agreement for equal work, equal pay.
In 1978 he led the strike of more than 5,000 workers at the General Hospital of Mexico, an action for which he was imprisoned.
