"First heroes, then forgotten." This is the cry of the 130 precarious healthcare workers in Sardinia who are still waiting for permanent employment. The protest erupted last spring, when some of them camped out on Via Roma, Cagliari, in front of the Health Department. But now their voices are ready to be heard again. "The four months of protests have been in vain," denounces Desiderio Mallus, spokesperson for the precarious healthcare workers.

A new march is planned for tomorrow morning: the demonstration will start at 8 a.m. from Via Roma, right in front of the regional health department, and will then head towards the regional government building. The protest is based on a demand for a permanent job, which for many remains an unfulfilled promise.

"While some healthcare providers, particularly in the north of the island, have correctly implemented the department's directives, advancing the rankings and stabilizing temporary workers, others—especially in the south—have allowed contracts to expire, ignoring the valid rankings and regional guidelines," Mallus explains.

"We almost all have the same qualifications and the same training path, yet we're treated differently depending on the area we work in," adds the spokesperson, who adds that "in the North, we've proceeded with common sense, respecting the rules. In the South, however, contracts have been allowed to expire and rankings have been frozen."

The situation was further exacerbated by the emergence of so-called "Oss employment projects": special projects that allowed unemployed workers to be hired on public contracts, without competitive examinations or the use of job lists. This measure was designed to provide employment, but according to Mallus, it only "blocked" the situation.

With tomorrow's demonstration, the health workers are demanding three specific and immediate commitments from the Sardinia Region and the local health authorities: the uniform application of regional directives across all local health authorities; the prioritization of rankings as a priority for hiring; and an end to any intervention that fuels further job insecurity or inequality among workers of the same skill level.