REQUEST FOR SUPPORT (UPDATE)
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF MICROBIOLOGY
"DR. CARLOS G. MALBRAN"
Buenos Aires, Argentine
The National Institute of Microbiology (INM) "Dr. Carlos G. Malbran"
(the microbiological reference laboratory of the Health Ministry) is
suffering in 1997 a reduction of 37% in its budget for supplies and
13% in its budget for personnel. In December 26, 1996 as part of what
is called the "2nd Reform of the Public Sector", government
authorities fired 101 professionals, technicians and administrative
personnel from the 7 National Institutes of Health (being the INM the
biggest of these 7 Institutes).
Furthermore, the Health Minister has created a new bureaucratic
structure called "A.N.L.I.S." (Administracion Nacional de
Laboratorios e Institutos de Salud) responsible in coordinate the
functioning of these 7 National Institutes of Health . The Secretary
of Health Programs, Dr. Victor Martinez says that the A.N.L.I.S.
will allow solving years of subadministration, incoordination, and
anarchy in the functioning of the National Health Institutes. We
denounce the authorities of the Health Ministry with its 2100
employees and 300 million dollars of budget as the unique
responsible of such an urging problem. Moreover, we think that the
A.N.L.I.S. with its new 40 managerial administrative positions and
its own millionaire budget will not change anything but the pockets
of its members. The solution cannot be related to new structures,
budgets or positions but to the efficient and proper functioning of
the Secretaries of Health like the one directed by Dr. Martinez, or
an efficient functioning of the 2100 employees of the Health
Ministry with its 300 million dollar budget directed by the Health
Minister Dr. Alberto Mazza (owner of the most important private
health system of the country). It is clear that this reform tends to
increase the central bureaucracy debilitating the scientific
structure of the Health Institutes, and hence the surveillance of
emerging infectious diseases. Deciding Public Health goals for the
country based exclusively in short term economic yield criteria,
will not only compromise the outcomes of the National Health
Programs but will also increase the risk for new uncontrolled
epidemics in the region by jeopardizing International Programs
pursued by the World Health Organization, Panamerican Health
Organization and others. Moreover, different research projects being
developed in the Institutes are going to an agony that will slowly
cause loosing the important "know how" the Institutes still have.
The professional, technical, and administrative personnel of the
National Institute for Microbiology have decided in assembly last
December 12, 1996 to protest starting an ongoing strike and a
peaceful 24 hour permanence of all the staff, other affiliated
personnel and fired workers at their site of work. On October 1996,
we have proposed the transfer of funds originally destined for
equipment to the personnel item of the 1997 budget (less than 1
million dollars/year are needed), in order to save the "know how"
patrimony of the Institute. Anyway, the budget for new equipment can
be recovered considering a Congress tax law already approved that
assigns extra funds to a list of Hospitals and Health Institutes
(including INM). Instead, the government has been reluctant to
re-consider the political decision responsible of this massive lay
off. In this regard, the Director of the INM has recognized that this
is only a budgetary problem and is not related with the capability of
the personnel being laid off. More recently, the Labor Minister has
proposed to open discussions between the Health Minister and the
leaders of the Professional Association and the Workers Union of the
INM. He has proposed to stop the ongoing strike and permanence in the
Institute going back to the situation previous to December 12, and to
stop the lay off of the personal while opening a discussions table
for 30 days. We have agreed with the proposal hoping the get a more
relaxed atmosphere where we can discuss and probe that these people
are efficient and necessary for the proper functioning of the
Institute, and that the lay off policy is not the best means to
improve and efficientize the expenditures in the Health Sector.
Surprisingly, the Health Minister Dr. Alberto Mazza, opposing the
ideas of the Labor Minister has rejected the proposal without any
other explanation. It is difficult to guess what kind of compromises
Dr. Mazza already has that does not allow him to discuss about the
future of the Health Institutes. We suspect that the present lay off
of trained technicians, professionals, and capable administrative
personnel with specific expertise in the many specialized areas the
INM is involved, is not an isolated budgetary problem but an
organized plan destined to transfer to the private sector the control
of the public health in the country. Instead, we believe the National
Government has to control and pursue the health of Argentine
population and cannot refuse these indelegable responsibilities. In
this regard, the previously mentioned reduction in the 1997 budget
for supplies and personnel is also accompanied by an increase in the
budget for new equipment and buildings. Without capable personnel and
enough supplies, what are we building, rebuilding and equipping
laboratories for? Finally on February 18, the judge Dr. Emilia Garcia
promulgated a favorable sentence in the trial promoted by the
Professional's Association and the Co=F6perative Asociation of the INM,
declaring ilegal the decree number 658/96 of the Health Ministry that
is laying off the 101 workers of the National Institutes of Health,
because this decree is jeopardizing the Public Health of Argentine
population. Presently, we are pursueing open discussions with the
Health Minister. We are requesting your international support by
sending faxes and e-mails to the house of representatives and
argentine newspapers so we can press the Health Minister to accept
the verdict and concur to the house of representatives for an
interpelation being proposed by all the opposite parties. The
international support obtained by our previous letter located in
different discussion lists has distubed the Health Minister Dr.
Alberto Mazza and other member of the government. We expect to
produce a greatest impact with this new one.
Thanking you for your time and support in advance,
Dr. Alberto Mazza, Health Minister 54-1-381-6075
Mr. Jorge Rodriguez, Primer Minister 54-1-331-9658
Dr. Carlos Saul Menem, President 54-1-342-8618
Dr. M. C. Freire, President APROINM,
Professional Association of the INM 54-1-303-221
And to the following e-mail adress:
PRESS:
olredaccion at lanacion.com.ar Diario LA NACION
lectores at clarin.com Diario CLARIN
SENATE MEMBERS:
ruckauf at senado.gov.aryoma at senado.gov.arvaca at senado.gov.arusandiza at senado.gov.arulloa at senado.gov.arstorani at senado.gov.arsolana at senado.gov.arr_feris at senado.gov.arpardo at senado.gov.aroyarzun at senado.gov.armiranda at senado.gov.armeneghi at senado.gov.armelgare at senado.gov.armaya at senado.gov.armaglieti at senado.gov.arm_karthy at senado.gov.arleon at senado.gov.aralopez at senado.gov.arhumada at senado.gov.argioja at senado.gov.argalvan at senado.gov.ardelasota at senado.gov.arcantare at senado.gov.arcafiero at senado.gov.arcabana at senado.gov.arberhonga at senado.gov.arbaum at senado.gov.aravelin at senado.gov.aralasino at senado.gov.ara_lanari at senado.gov.ar
Dr. Maria Cecilia Freire Rub=E9n Mosquera
President Internal Committee
APROINM ATE-INM
Public Sector Workers Union
