Health care workers are planning a general strike on Thursday. They are calling for a six-point-four-percent wage hike and improvements to the nation’s health care system at a time when trainee doctors are absent as part of a prolonged collective action. 

Sources within the medical community said Wednesday that the Korean Health and Medical Workers’ Union is set to begin the strike at 7 a.m. Thursday, unless last-ditch negotiations with management lead to an agreement.

The National Labor Relations Commission said negotiations concluded early Wednesday concerning eleven facilities run by seven hospitals, including the Chung-Ang University Healthcare System and Korea University Medicine. Workers at those institutions are unlikely to take part in the strike. 

In a statement, the union welcomed a parliamentary subcommittee’s decision on Tuesday to approve a bill that would introduce a new category of health professional, a physician assistant nurse. The bipartisan effort will have a positive impact on labor negotiations, the statement said.

If the strike goes ahead, essential staff will be present in emergency rooms, surgery rooms, intensive care units and delivery rooms. But considering the shortage of doctors, the strike is still expected to inconvenience patients.