The protests of employees in the health system will continue, the Federation announces.Health Solidarity“, because the Government's offer is “insufficiency“.
The June 2023 protest of Health employees – Photo: “Health Solidarity” Federation
Following a meeting of the Coordination Council of the Federation “Health Solidarity” it was decided to continue the protests because the Government's current offer is “insufficiency“, according to a press release from the trade unionists.
The average increase in salary income is only 10.5%, with only 0.1 percentage points above the inflation recorded in the previous year, the trade unionists claim, according to Agerpres. Representatives of the Federation “Health Solidarity” states that the average increase in salary income for the entire year 2024 would be only 13.9%, being lower than the requested increase.
Moreover, the Government's offer does not cover the most important part of the specifics of the activity in the health system, so it does not reward the contribution to ensuring the permanence of medical services.
At the same time, the trade unionists say that the Government's offer does not respond to the requests to increase the quality of the professional life of health salaries and to increase the quality of the medical act, such as the recognition of the anticipated fulfillment of the contribution period and the equalization of the competencies of post-secondary nurses.
“An equally important element is the fact that the Government's offer does not satisfy the hopes of health workers regarding the application of the new salary law, the Government not honoring the commitments made to the “Health Solidarity” Federation last year. Under discussion is the elimination of a series of inequities, the absence of a hierarchy accepted in common by the social partners, affecting at the same time the possibility of an ethical distribution of wage increases”it is stated in the press release.
The protest actions also aim at “satisfaction of the series of claims” concerning the Ministry of Health, i.e. the negotiation of the annexes to the Collective Labor Agreement at the level of the Health sector, these having an additional contribution, according to the previously cited source.
“It can be seen that the number of signatories for the strike has already exceeded half of the total number of health workers. Given that there is now a legal framework for holding a general strike, the conditions for declaring a general strike are met. The immediate actions that the “Health Solidarity” Federation will carry out include a surprise action and the first demonstration in the street, this year, of representatives of the “Health Solidarity” Federation (from the category of those who are part of the prior warnings), which will be on the 1st of February 2024. We hope that the Government will have the wisdom to honor all demands, in the form requested, before reaching the triggering of the general strike“, mention the representatives of the Federation “Sanitary Solidarity
