The objective of the new “Arsène Burny” center in Liège is quite simply extraordinary: it aims to centralize all patient needs in one place. A person who is suspected of having cancer can be followed by different specialists on the same day: no more making several appointments and having to come back to the hospital.
The building is made up of seven levels, several laboratories: a total of 6,000 square meters. The institute has also equipped itself with the very latest technologies in terms of care: latest generation radiotherapy services or even in the well-being of the patient.
But oncology nurses are taking advantage of this moment to demonstrate and to explain their demands. Specialized staff are protesting against the new salary scale which no longer takes into account their specializations or expertise in certain areas.
“It’s totally unacceptable,” notes Catherine Grzeszczyk, a nurse specializing in oncology. “I think our fight is fair and legitimate. The new scale no longer takes into account our expertise, our training that we are legally required to have. For example, we are offered that an ordinary nurse, who does not have the same level of education and training as us, earns the same salary. This is completely unacceptable. This system just devalues us“, she concludes.