ZAGREB, June 28 (Hina) - Croatian doctors and dentists started a day-long strike at 7 am on Friday, the Croatian Doctors' Union, the organiser of the strike, reported.
ZAGREB, June 28 (Hina) - Croatian doctors and dentists started a
day-long strike at 7 am on Friday, the Croatian Doctors' Union, the
organiser of the strike, reported. #L#
The strike will last until 3 pm, and it is expected that around
13,000 doctors and dentists will participate in it.
Care for patients will not be brought into question, because
doctors will be on duty as during weekends or holidays, unionists
claim. They recommended that patients should not go to their
doctors, except in emergency cases.
The union demands that the salary of a doctor-beginner amount to two
average salaries, or 7,000 kuna (around EUR1,000), and that the
salary of a specialist amount to two and a half average salaries, or
9,000 kuna (around EUR1,230). It also demands that acquired rights
be protected and a branch collective agreement signed.
The government believes the strike is illegal because it was not
preceded by a process of reconciliation, which under the Labour Act
must take place before a possible strike. Therefore, doctors will
not be paid for the time spent on strike, the government said in a
statement.
Health Minister Andro Vlahusic today forwarded a note to the heads
of all medical institutions, warning that they had to secure
conditions for the normal operation of those institutions.
The government has also called on the doctors' union to continue
talks on a collective agreement.
Union leader Babic dismissed the accusation that the strike was
unlawful, saying the union had already tried, unsuccessfully, to
negotiate with Minister Vlahusic and the parliamentary Committee
on Labour, Social Policy, and Health.
(hina) rml