Medical unions pledge to continue protest over pay

Medical trade unions in the Czech Republic have launched a protest campaign called ‘We’re staying, keep your promises!’. The new campaign, started in November 2011, follows on from one in 2010 called ‘Thank you, we’re leaving!’ that demanded both pay rises and secure funding for wages in the Czech hospital sector. Now there is concern that Health Minister Leoš Heger’s promises, made in February 2011, that there would be 2012 pay increases for all hospital workers may not be kept.

Background

Medical trade unions in the so-called Medical Trio (Z3) of unions – the Trade Union of Doctors in the Czech Republic (LOK – SČL), the Trade Union of the Health Service and Social Care of the Czech Republic (OSZSP ČR) and the Professional and Trade Union of Medical Workers of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia (POUZPČMS) – demanded that Health Minister Leoš Heger keeps promises he gave to the LOK-SČL in the memorandum agreed with the union on 14 February 2011. The memorandum was a result of industrial action by Czech hospital doctors called ‘Thank you, we’re leaving!’, threatening a mass resignation of the country’s clinic-based medical staff unless the government increased pay in the sector (CZ1101019I).

Fears of insufficient funds

Some aspects of the memorandum agreement have been fulfilled, such as the increase of doctors’ salaries in 2011. However, medical staff fear other parts of the agreement will not be fulfilled. They are concerned about the agreement to increase doctors’ salaries in 2012, and also pay increases promised for other hospital medical staff.

The trade unions are also concerned that the 2012 Payment Decree, governing the level and volume of payments for medical care paid from public health insurance, will only generate a similar level of revenue as in 2011. Taking into account inflation and increased VAT for items such as food, health and social services, and tickets for cultural events, Z3 believes there will not be enough in the fund to cover the promises made in the memorandum agreement. Hospitals have already announced that they will not be able to increase salaries from their internal resources.

Battle of words

Martin Engel, Chair of LOK-SČL, explained:

The Ministry of Health has not ensured enough leeway to increase the salaries of hospital employees. The Payment Decree, as proposed by the Government for the next year [2012], is not actually an increase but, on the contrary, a cut in payments from health insurance companies to hospitals. It will create a disastrous situation, mainly for small hospitals where the reduction in payments could be even higher than 20%.

Health Minister Leoš Heger responded:

The memorandum can be viewed from two perspectives. On one hand it can be interpreted literally and on the other, more importantly, it can be seen in the sense of an agreement – namely that the process of increases should start. And we have started it.

The health minister has offered a 6.25% wage increase in 2012, whereas the agreement in the memorandum was 10%.

Protests begin

In response to the deficiencies of the Payment Decree and the uncertainty of other sources of financing for hospitals, a campaign has been created by hospital doctors called ‘We’re staying, keep your promises!’. Meetings have been held across the country, at which representatives of all medical occupations and representatives of all hospitals in each region hosted press conferences and talked to journalists and the public about their work, their income and their opinions. At each meeting, hospital staff from all fields issued a joint statement that was sent to Health Minister Leoš Heger and Prime Minister Petr Nečas. These events ended on 7 December 2011, but trade unions are set to continue industrial action in February 2012 if the promised wage increases have not been honoured.

Sona Veverkova, Research Institute for Labour and Social Affairs