Hospital de Trauma workers are seeking a law specifically for the institution and seniority-based salary increases in the 2027 National General Budget. Their demands also include granting permanent status to 42 contract workers and creating an incentive retirement plan for 10 workers aged 65 or older.
The demonstration took place on September 29 outside the hospital on General Santos Avenue in Asunción. Union spokesperson Mirna López outlined the demands in an interview with GEN channel and Universo 970 AM radio, which ABC Color reproduced. The proposed increase would cover 762 permanent employees, excluding doctors, who have already received a similar benefit.
There is disagreement over the total number of workers covered: La Nación reported 772, while ABC Color and Hoy put the figure at 762. The reports do not explain whether the difference stems from different inclusion criteria.
The estimated cost of the salary increases and benefits is US$3.5 million. The proposal sets out a seniority scale from zero to five years and accounts for payments from January through December; if the benefit begins in July, the amount would fall by about half. López said some employees earn 2.8 million guaraníes gross and, after a 16% pension contribution is deducted, take home less than the legal minimum wage.
The union submitted the proposal to Congress in May and also sent it to the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare. López said she requested a meeting with Minister Isaías Fretes on September 17 but had not yet received a response. In addition to including the funds in the budget, workers are seeking a law specifically for Hospital de Trauma, which treats patients referred from different parts of the country.
In statements to La Nación, López said workers are open to dialogue and do not intend to call a strike. The demonstration did not disrupt emergency care or essential services, according to information released. Workers say the number of patients and the physical and emotional toll associated with the cases they treat justify a salary review.