This morning, a protest was held in front of the headquarters of the Campania Regional Council, at the Centro Direzionale in Naples, following peaceful demonstrations throughout the city. The social health workers (Oss) working through the Gesco consortium, in fact, are out of work from today.
During the picket, the protesters requested a meeting with the president of the Campania Region Health Commission, Enzo Alaia, and with the group leaders of the Regional Council.
Meanwhile, a statement from the protesters reads, "A month of silence from ASL Napoli 1 Centro, the institutions, and politicians: the loss of jobs for three hundred social health workers, psychologists, and social workers who have been protesting for a month against ASL Napoli 1 Centro's decision to terminate their contract for the management of psychosocial and assistance services for Alzheimer's patients, the mentally ill, the elderly, people with disabilities, and those with addictions, falls amid general indifference."
The dispute, which began in August with the first protests and has intensified in the last month with almost daily peaceful demonstrations, does not only involve the 300 Oss of the Rti led by Gesco, but also the families of the workers who, from today, will be forced to interrupt assistance to hundreds of users of the SIR, day centers and hospital facilities.
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These are vulnerable patients, such as mentally ill patients, Alzheimer's patients, the elderly, people with disabilities and people with addictions, who now find themselves without continuity in care and points of reference in their therapeutic journey.
"This decision, incomprehensible to us, by the Naples Local Health Authority," the statement continues, "seems to be aimed at dismantling the city's welfare system, as emerged yesterday at a well-attended public meeting in Santa Maria La Nova, attended by numerous social organizations such as Libera, the Scampia Committees, Jonathan, Legacoop Campania, Fish, Dedalus, Conca, and Less, to name just a few."
The organizations involved have formed a committee with the aim of making the Gesco dispute a “battle for the defense of welfare” in Campania. In the meantime, the group of social enterprises has filed two appeals against the ASL, both to request compliance with the deadline for the contract for the procurement of psychosocial services, and to obtain compensation for damages of approximately 4 million euros.
Furthermore, yesterday a summit was planned at the Prefecture with INPS (for the request of the Wage Integration Fund for workers), trade unions and ASL, the postponement of which was learned "with great disappointment" by the Oss.
