Hospital workers clash with police in Wroclaw

Workers of the Rydygier Hospital in Wroclaw, who have not received their sal aries since the beginning of September, blocked one of the streets in the ci ty's center. Having repeatedly asked the protesters to leave the street, the police were forced to intervene. "Leave us alone. We are fighting for our mo ney, join us," retorted the nurses. "We don't have enough to buy bread, we c annot afford to buy winter coats for our children, they have driven us to ex treme measures," explained Iwona Skrybu from the hospital's Defense Committe e. One of the women, who was carried off by her arms and legs, fainted in fr ont of the police car and was taken by ambu-lance to hospital with a suspected heart attack. The use of force against the hosp ital workers caused indignation at the Polish Union of Nurses and Midwives. "It is the policy of the present local and government authorities that force d the workers to defend their honor, their workplaces and medical centers fo r patients," wrote Bo ena Banachowicz, the leader of the organization, in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Leszek Miller demanding an immediate just ification for the use of force. (Rzeczpospolita, 16-17 Nov, p. A3) A.C.