The “Sanitary Solidarity” Federation in Romania is currently holding a large referendum on the appropriateness of the decision regarding the initiation of the strike.
The “Health Solidarity” Federation in Romania goes on strike
According to a press release sent on Saturday, the referendum is being held on the organization's online platforms, with as subjects mainly the employees who signed for the strike on the FSSR lists, but also the other employees in the public health sector. So, at the end, all employees are invited to evaluate the relevance and impact of the increase in basic wages on the individual salary income and to decide on the triggering of the strike, respectively the participation in the strike.
The referendum takes place before the meeting of the Coordination Council of the Federation “Health Solidarity”the collective body empowered to take such a decision, states the quoted source.
“This approach is mandatory, given that between the time of the protests and the decision on the strike, GEO 19/2024 was published regarding the increase in basic salaries. The referendum assesses the intention/willingness/willingness of the employees to participate in the strike after these basic wage increases. Because we want each employee's decision to be an informed one (each employee to correctly understand the impact of the basic salary increase on his salary income), for the referendum the “Solidarity Sanităra” Federation built and uses the salary income calculator. This is an innovative tool to highlight the reality of salary income at the level of each health professional, allowing understanding and informed decision”it is stated in the quoted statement.
The Coordinating Council of the “Sanitary Solidarity” Federation meets on Monday.
Last Monday, a protest by health workers took place in Constitution Square, prior to the general strike discussed at the moment. On March 11, five thousand hospital employees and doctors protested in front of Parliament. The protest started in front of the Government, and then people also stopped in front of the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Health to voice their grievances, on their way to Constitution Square.
Salary is the main reason for dissatisfaction among health workers.
So far, the general strike has not been triggered because the “Union Solidarity” Federation did not have enough signatures, because the other representative federation (Sanitas) “seems to have given up protesting”.
The protesters want the increase to be more than 26% on the salary envelope, which also includes allowances and guards.
“The protest is also directed against the form of the last Emergency Ordinance regarding some health wage increases, this being an ordinance of the inequity and ineptitude of the issuers. We take into account the fact that this GEO creates a series of new wage inequities and deepens some of the pre-existing ones“, the protesters say.
