PSI Interamericas health network meeting 13- 15 August 2008

PSI health Workers unión of the Interamericas region held their sixth meeting in Sao Paolo on 13, 14 and 15^th August. A total of 81 participants spent three days reviewing the challenges faced by health Workers and health systems in the American continent.

They included 51 trade union leaders from Argentina, Brasil, Canadá, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, EEUU, Guatemala, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Perú and Trinidad Tobago. The PSI affiliate delegates consisted of 30 women and 26 men. The other participants were members of Latin American trade union federations, Brazilian unions as well as NGOs.

The central resolutions of the meeting were:

• Reaffirm and Implement the policy and strategy for the health sector adopted by the PSI World Congress held in Vienna in 2007
• Implement the 5 points in the work plan adopted in May by the Healsh Services Task Force.

Specific resolutions:

 1.       Hepatitis b – Promote the immunization of all health Workers, when posible in programs of collaboration with the WHO, negotiated by PSI. Participating union must be involved in the entire vaccination process, demonstrating to Rank and file Workers the importance of unión mobilization.

These programs will focus on Nicaragua, Paraguay and Colombia.  PSI will develop a map with the incidence of hepatitis amongst health workers in the Americas, which will be used to monitor our progress. Costa Rica agreed to lead the implementation of this task.

2.      AIDS: continue with programs to prevent the infection of health Workers with AIDS at their workplaces. Guatemala will be the initial priority country, with the support of the Central America health network.

3.      Workplace violence: IT was decided to launch joint actions to prevent and respond to workplace violence. Priority countries will be Paraguay, Brasil, Chile, Argentina  and the Countries of Central América.

4.      Safe injection devices: advócate their adoption as an effective way to prevent needlestick injuries. Priority countries: Perú and Central America.

5.      Training on identification of workplace hazards and the development of Strategies for their elimination. Priority countries: Southern cone Countries,  Brasil,  Central America, Perú and Colombia.

6.      Multinational corporations: monitor their activities to poenetrate the health sector in the Americas, promote resistance by trade unions to privatization and organization of Workers employed by them.  Priority countries: Chile and Canada with research support from PSRIU, and support from PSI’s health services officer, Jorge Mancillas.

Key Campaigns

1. Quality health Services   

2. Decent work: collaborate  with the ILO, CSA and other union federations to fight against the precarization of employment and the shift of public health services towards third sector and for better working conditions and the right to collective bargaining.  

3. Iberoamerican agreement on Social Security: implement, monitor and use as an organizing tool

Countries that should receive special attention in our regional workplan:

• Colombia and Guatemala, due to high levels of violence against unions and in society.
• Cuba, need to defend their progress in the area of health- PSI should participate in the health conference in Habana from 5 to 9 October (after the Sao Paolo meeting, this conference was suspended).  
• Paraguay, given the oportunities that will open as a new government takes over.
  

Organizational structures

• Organize a network of contacts. ANEP will take responsibility, with the support of the Central American network.  
• Develop the regional health network website.  FENPRUSS will take responsibility with the support of Brazil.
• Regional health bulletin. Cicop will take responsibility with the support of Fesprosa.
• Global health worker migration Project.

2009 –Year of the Américas

• Participating countries: 06 (Barbados, Trinidad y Tobago, Chile, Ecuador, EEUU, Canadá). Need to add 02 more, Paraguay and one from Central America.
• Meeting will be held in 2009, with participating countires and the IAMREC.
• WHO: In may 2009, participate in achieving the adoption of a WHO code of practice for the ethical recruitment of migrant health workers.
• Slogan for the campaign in the Americas: workers have the right not to have to mígrate and the right to freedom of movement.  

Priority alliances

 CSA: Confederación Sindical de las Américas

 ASC: Alianza Social Continental

Schedule  

FSA – Guatemala (october 2008)

Health Services Task Force of the Alianza Social Continental – El Salvador (October 2008)

World Social Forum – Belem – Brasil (January 2009)

Migration / IAMREC (March 2009)

Health Services Task Force meeting and WHA (mayo 2009)

The meeting led to a great step forward in the organization and coordination of the health sector unions in the region.