DUTY CALLS

Liberia Ebola Medics Defy Strike

Union wants better gear, higher hazard pay.

Most Liberian nurses and medical assistants who treat Ebola patients are not following their labor union’s call to strike. The National Health Workers Association called for a strike until Ebola caretakers received a higher risk fee. Currently, workers are paid a basic fee of $200-$300 a month, and their additional risk fee is less than $500 a month. The union called for a risk fee of $700, as well as better protective gear and insurance for workers. In Liberia, 95 health workers have died from Ebola. Yet, most medical workers appeared to continue treating Ebola patients on Monday. George Williams, the secretary-general of the union, claims the Liberian government had placed some of the workers under “duress” and coerced them to ignore the strike. The case of a U.S. nurse diagnosed with Ebola has raised questions about the safety protections for health-care workers treating the highly infectious virus.