Overworked and underpaid, medical interns are called to strike on Friday for their wages and working conditions, in a context of chronic hospital crisis further aggravated by the showdown over medical interims.
Stress, precariousness, depression: "
Young doctors are in psychological distress
" and their working time "
blithely exceeds the legal maximum
" of 48 hours per week, warns the National Intersyndicale des Interns (Isni) in a press release Thursday.
Launched three weeks ago, its call for a "
day without interns
" on April 28 has spread among other carabineers' organizations, from general medicine interns at Isnar-IMG to undergraduate and graduate students at the Anemf, up to recent graduates of Young Doctors.
Their elders from the SNMH-FO, although in the minority among hospital practitioners, also joined in by filing “
a strike notice in support of interns and their demands
”.
The date was not chosen at random: Friday will be the last day of internship for interns, who change departments each semester.
With the hope of a more followed movement than usual, their strikes often being more symbolic than visible.
Their demands, on the other hand, are very concrete: 300 euros more per month (i.e. around 15% increase), a housing allowance indexed to rents, a strict breakdown of working time and, for future GPs, the postponement of 10th year of studies - in the absence of cancellation of this reform.
Will they be heard?
The context gives them the opportunity, on the eve of an extended weekend of May 1 at high risk, due to a shortage of temporary workers.
Indeed, the turn of the screw on the prices of these substitute doctors (capped at 1,390 euros gross for 24 hours of work) has for almost a month led to the closure of services – total or partial – in dozens of public hospitals.
Enough to emphasize the role of interns, who "
represent up to 40% of the medical workforce
" in certain establishments, as recalled by Isni.