Solidarity, Health, Romania

(September 2016) Over 200 people joined a picket of the Ministry of Labour on 20 September as part of a campaign by the Sanitas health union to ensure that all categories of workers in the sector are covered by the main pay statutes. Some workers including nursery staff and those working in social assistance are currently excluded from the pay provisions covering the sector. The union is organising further pickets of ministries and the parliament and plans a two-hour strike on 19 October and a full day of action on 31 October.

(November 2016) The Sanitas health union has been maintaining its protests and picketing of the Ministry of Health in support of the negotiations for a new collective agreement. The union wants to see a number of key improvements in the agreement and compliance with regulations on additional pay for night and weekend work. The union has also raised the question of equal pay for equal work, highlighting examples where health staff doing the same job are paid different rates depending on the institution they work for.

(March 2017) Health and social care union Sanitas has again met with the Ministry of Health to make the case for bonuses to apply to all workers across the health and social care sectors and ensure that all workers in these sectors benefit from pay rises. The union is hoping for decrees to be issues to regulate this situation as soon as possible. The two sides will also shortly begin negotiations over a collective agreement for the sector.

(May 2017) The Sanitas health union says it will continue to campaign and mobilise in order to ensure that new legislation creates pay equity for all workers in the health and social services sectors. In its latest form the legislation fails to take account of a series of amendments submitted by the union. Sanitas says the process of consultation appears to have been for show only. The union will consider what further action to take should the legislation fail to incorporate the key changes on pay.

The Sanitas health trade union is asking members to sign up on its website if they support strike action over bonuses, pay and other issues. The union is reacting to Ministry of Health proposals that would impose a cap on bonuses and restrict bonuses for working conditions for technical and administrative staff. The union is also very concerned about proposals to shift social contributions from employers to employees that would effectively wipe out any agreed pay increases. Sanitas also wants action to ensure fair pay levels for different occupations.

The Sanitas health union began a series of demonstrations outside the ministeries of labour, public finance and health on 20 March in protest at the government's failure to deal with long-standing issues related to health and social service workers' pay and bonuses. The union wants a pay increase for all workers in the sector backdated to 1 March and an end to limits imposed on bonus payments. Sanitas also wants to ensure that workers don't lose out on their take-home pay following a government decision to increase workers' social contributions. Four days of demonstrations are planned for

Following its initial protests in March, the Sanitas health union is planning further action to put pressure on the government over pay and bonuses. A national rally is planned for 26 April and a two-hour warning strike will take place on 7 May followed by a full national strike across the health and social service sectors on 11 May. The union is protesting over the new pay system that hasn't delivered pay increases for all workers. The union also wants a general pay rise, an end to the cap on bonuses, compensation for pay lost to increase social contributions and the right to negotiate

Health union representatives met with the government on 2 May following a well-supported rally on 26 April. The government has promised to tackle some of the pay and bonus problems identified by health unions but has yet to come up with concrete written proposals. Health union Sanitas wants the government to lift the 30% limit on bonuses and to increase pay for all workers in health and social services. It also wants to negotiate collective agreements in the two sectors. Unless the government addresses these issues the union is planning a two-hour warning strike on 7 May and a national one-day

A series of protests in March, a national rally in April and a two-hour warning strike on 7 May all helped health union Sanitas and other unions in the sector reach agreement with the government on a number of key issues. As a result the national strike planned for 11 May was called off. Health and social service workers will now get compensation for social contribution increases to protect their take-home pay. There will also be changes to the proposed 30% limit on bonuses and there is a commitment to negotiate collective agreements covering the health and social services sectors.

The Sanitas health union has been continuing talks with the Ministry of Health over the pay legislation covering the health system. The union argues that the legislation effectively discriminates against certain occupations including pharmacists, biologists, psychologists, physiotherapists, medical registrars, and nurses. However, after the last meeting made no progress the union is now demanding to meet the prime minister to secure a commitment to act to resolve the issue and warns that it will mobilise its 100000 members if no progress is made.

The Sanitas health union is continuing to put pressure on the government over health sector pay and the need to negotiate a collective agreement for the sector. A recent union delegation from across the country met the health minister to call for assurances that this year's pay rise will be fully funded and that bonuses will apply to all health workers. The union underlined its determination to pursue its demands with the promise of another delegation going to the labour ministry on 20 March and plans for a national rally in Bucharest in April.