"We can't play with health": Opposed to the proposed reorganization of services, hospital staff mobilized this Thursday, July 31, in front of L'Archet 1 hospital in Nice.

"We're not far from a tragedy," the hospital's preventive medicine department told us, " reported Benoit Duhamel, a nursing assistant and general secretary of the CGT Santé union. This Thursday, July 31, at 6 p.m., around thirty hospital workers gathered in front of the main building of L'Archet 1 hospital in Nice to denounce the reorganization of the biocleaning, logistics, and stretcher services.

Around ten people even spent the night there, on makeshift beds, placards in hand to denounce what they describe as the "continuous deterioration of their working conditions."

Installed in a tent on the ground, Florent, who has been employed at the hospital for three years, is worried about the hours "which could extend from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m." and about seeing his bonuses disappear. "They're not telling us anything," he sighs.

"Saving money at the expense of staff"

Initiated by the CGT, this action aims at a restructuring described as " imposed, without consultation or consideration of the realities on the ground" . It would have direct consequences for hospital staff: work overload, elimination of precarious positions, increased pressure on teams, repeated overtime, non-replacement of absentees, burnout.

" It has become commonplace in the establishment," laments the CGT representative. "Projects are systematically imposed, without real dialogue, without respect for the agents or their representatives," the union organization condemns in a press release. For it, the management is pursuing a clear objective: "To make savings at the expense of the staff."

"At the end of our rope"

Among the protesters, several healthcare assistants are warning of an understaffing situation that has become untenable. Céline (1), a hospital service agent for 23 years, is "at the end of her rope" and "forgotten" since the health crisis. " We can't play with health," she sighs.

Representatives of the movement regret the recruitment freeze. "For years, we've been told about the supposed shortage of nursing staff, the lack of attractiveness of hospitals... But we're also being refused the recruitment of nursing assistants," insists Benoit Duhamel. The CGT also accuses the CFDT and Force Ouvrière of having validated the project during the last social committee meeting. "We have been betrayed," he says.

Contacted, the management of the Nice hospital center did not wish to comment.

1. First name has been changed to protect anonymity.