A strike leader at a hospital in Northern Norway told state broadcaster NRK on Tuesday morning that she thought the ongoing strike by doctors would soon end, since the hospital had warned county officials that it threatened life and health. A non-striking doctor was ordered in to boost staffing, though, and the strike continued.
Nordlandssykehuset in Bodø claimed it faced an acute staffing shortage Tuesday evening, therefore the call for reinforcements. Strike leader in Bodø Hanne Winge Kvarenes said she thought that would order all doctors back to work. That didn’t happen, with the state still refusing to involve itself in the labour conflict between doctors, other health care professionals in their union and hospital administrators.
Others now think the strike, which began September 7, will continue, perhaps until the end of the year if no agreement is reached on what the doctors claim are excessively long shifts. Nearly 700 employees at 16 hospitals around the country are on strike, with another 54 due to be called off the job from Thursday.
newsinenglish.no staff
