Healthcare workers' association rejects Amancio Ortega's 10M € donation

An association of healthcare workers in Aragón has rejected Amancio Ortega's donation to the fight against cancer. The founder of the Inditex empire has donated 10 million euros to the region to buy state of the art technology for cancer diagnosis and care. The donation forms part of a 320 million euro donation to the country as a whole.

The Association for the Defence of Public Health in Aragon announced its objection to the 10 million euro donation from the Amancio Ortega Foundation saying: "Our community should not have to rely upon, accept or express gratitude for the generosity, altruism or charity of any individual or agency. We aspire to receive adequate financing of our needs through a progressive tax system which redistributes resources, prioritising public health.

"The first thing the government of Aragón should do is introduce measures to get back the universal right to healthcare lost in 2012. And find an urgent solution to the shortages that are putting pressure on health centres and professionals: lack of equipment, absent staff not being replaced, ward closures or waiting list scams".

According to its website, this association is made up of "progressive" professionals working nationally in the healthcare sector (doctors, nurses, auxiliaries, administrative staff, social workers, etc.), whose objective is to defend a "universal and redistributive public healthcare system" and who are opposed to outsourcing services.

It is not the first time a member of the Federation of Associations for the Defence of Public Health has criticised the generosity of the Inditex founder (pictured). Last Friday, representatives from the Canary Islands said they felt "deeply embarrassed about the gushing enthusiasm shown by President Clavijo and Councillor Baltar" with respect to the donation.

Their statements, echoing the words of their counterparts in Aragón, came after announcements were made that the Amancio Ortega Foundation would donate 17 million euros to the region to buy equipment for oncology departments. "For the sake of the dignity of the people of the Canary Islands, our community should not have to rely upon, accept or express gratitude for the generosity, altruism or charity of any individual or agency. And even less so when it comes the majority shareholder of one of the country's biggest companies and largest personal fortunes, who should not be displaying his philanthropy, but fulfilling his obligation to contribute to public funds in a manner that is proportional to his income, like the rest of us do," they said.

"If the Amancio Ortega Foundation is really concerned about health, perhaps they should make donations to countries like Morocco and Bangladesh, where the majority of their clothing is made, and improve the working conditions of people working for them either directly or via a subcontractor, whose working conditions are nothing short of exploitation and whose lives and health are put at grave risk every day, or work to combat the human rights violations that are so widesread in the textile industry", they added.

Photo: Amancio Ortega