"They want to empty it and destroy it": Garrahan Hospital employees announced new strikes and ratified their demands to the National Government.

The staff atGarrahan Hospital announced two new strikes this week as part of the wage dispute between the national government and the public health sector. According to the doctors and technical staff at the highly complex pediatric center, President Javier Milei and his Minister of Health, Mario Lugones , are promoting a program aimed at " emptying and destroying " the hospital.

The new strikes will take place on Wednesday the 24th and Sunday the 29th in protest of the budget crisis facing the institution. On Wednesday, Garrahan staff will hold a 24-hour strike, staying inside the hospital and holding a festival on Combate de los Pozos Street. On Sunday, the strike will take place from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., in addition to a bike ride from the Obelisk. This latter activity was organized by mothers and fathers of the hospital's patients.

The Association of Professionals and Technicians of Garrahan Hospital (APyT) reported that, despite the strike measures, staff will remain at the medical center, and inpatients will be treated and emergency care will be guaranteed. " The unity of the entire healthcare team, which is steadfast in defending the hospital, is growing strongly, along with the support of the public and the families who are or were treated at the hospital ," emphasized Norma Lezana, general secretary of APyT.

In an interview with the news agency Noticias Argentinas, Lezana took aim at the president and the Minister of Health, asserting that " the government cannot hide its true colors ." "Instead of guaranteeing the right to health of children and adolescents, and the right of workers to decent wages and working conditions, they are dedicated to lying, threatening, and destroying. Professionals continue to resign, and the authorities refuse to admit that a crisis exists, hiding behind harassing messages and threats in workers' personal emails ," he denounced.

According to the union, the arguments and authorities of the National Government " have been completely delegitimized " by the lack of response to the health personnel's protests and the "neglect of patients and the health team." Garrahan employees maintain their position of demanding a "100% salary increase" and a starting salary equal to the value of a basic family basket, approximately $1,800,000.