Health unions of Brest and Nizhny Novgorod regions exchanged experience in Russia

The delegation of the Brest Regional Organization of the Belarusian Trade Union of Health Workers headed by Chairman Nikolai Skaskevich visited the Nizhny Novgorod region of Russia. The program includes three active days, during which experts from both countries exchanged experiences. Special emphasis was paid to the tools to protect the labor rights of health workers and ways to increase the comfort of working conditions, reports sb.by.

The first point in the program of the visit of the delegation of the Brest Regional Organization of the Belarusian Trade Union of Health Workers was the Eternal Flame Memorial in the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin, dedicated to fellow countrymen - soldiers who died during the Great Patriotic War. Here they laid flowers and honored the memory of the heroes with a minute of silence.

Then the guests went to Arzamas. One of the locations is the medical college, where the guests got acquainted with the training of future specialists and appreciated the union work with students. They also visited the city’s central hospital. Chairman of the Nizhny Novgorod regional organization of the Trade Union of Health Workers of the Russian Federation Vasily Prikaznov noted:

- Sharing experiences is not just a story about what we have done. This is an opportunity to see familiar things through the eyes of colleagues, to notice what used to be in the shadows, and together to find solutions that will work for us and for them. Today, we're not just showing off our sites, we're building a common understanding of what strong union support for health workers should look like.

Another important point of the visit program was the Research Institute of Clinical Oncology “Nizhny Novgorod Regional Clinical Oncological Dispensary”. The Russian side shared its best projects. In particular, they spoke about the federal project “Long and active life” and regional programs “Health City”, “Health Quarter”, “Family Quarter”, as well as about the role of trade unions in the life of medical workers using specific examples. Deputy Minister of Health of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Svetlana Malysheva stressed:

- Trade unions contribute to the formation of a cohesive team of health workers, providing both professional support and opportunities for informal interaction and joint initiatives.

An open discussion took place in the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Union of Trade Union Organizations. We discussed motivation for membership, interaction with young people, information work, protection of labor rights and more.

- We, as well as in the Nizhny Novgorod region, care about the preservation of personnel potential, therefore, we and they are developing a mentoring school, developing youth councils in order to give young people an opportunity to feel involved in the events that are taking place in the health care organization, said Nikolai Skaskevich, Chairman of the Brest Regional Organization of the Belarusian Trade Union of Health Workers. – The strength of the trade union is in unity, and we strive to hear each member of the trade union, to make every effort to solve his problem, thereby earning the trust of a person.

In particular, the Belarusian experience of social guarantees for young professionals (compensation for renting housing, payments to mentors) was particularly interesting to colleagues from Russia, Brest residents also highly appreciated the achievements of Nizhny Novgorod (projects like the City of Health).

Photo: Nizhny Novgorod Regional Organization of the Trade Union of Health Workers of the Russian Federation