Earlier this year, 63 ambulance workers were sacked by the Emergency Situations Coordination and Urgent Assistance Centre of Georgia as a response to their involvement in the HSMCTU health workers' pay campaign.
Continuing actions from last year, members of the HSCMTU health workers’ union organised a demonstration on 17 January to raise concerns about low pay and changes to working conditions. The workers then took their protest inside the emergency services head office with several remaining in the building overnight to highlight the strength of feeling about their situation. Changes to rules on shift work mean that workers can’t work the extra hours they need to make ends meet and the ending of a contract to disinfect vehicles has left staff to do this work, so extra duties without additional pay
Czech Republic
Slovak Republic
The trade union confederations of the Czech and Slovak Republics – CMKOS and KOZ – have called national demonstrations on 8 October to call for action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis. They argue that their respective governments need to undertake urgent measures to support households in the face of soaring inflation and particularly high energy costs. They want to see increases in wages in general and particularly minimum wages and assurance that government budgets will include provisions to cover pay rises in public services.
The SOZZASS health workers’ union has expressed concern over the way that the health ministry is addressing health workers’ pay and its failure so far to undertake proper negotiations with the unions. In its latest announcement the ministry has indicated its willingness to increase pay for nurses and refers to bringing average nurses’ pay up from 89% to 100% of average earnings. While SOZZASS welcomes a commitment to increase pay for nurses it says that this should be as the result of collective bargaining and that all health workers deserve a pay rise.
The KOZ trade union confederation reports that collective agreements for state and public service workers have been negotiated for the period 1.1.2023-31.8.2024. Basic salary scales will increase by 7% from 1 January 2023 and by a further 10% from 1 September 2023. Amendments to higher-level collective agreements for 2022 provide civil and public servants with a one-off payment of €500 in August. Pay increases for health workers are still being negotiated. The latest collective agreements also include a range of social benefits, not least a reduction of working time for public employees
After several weeks of conflict, rallies and the threat of strike action, the HSMCTU health union, with the support of the GTUC confederation, secured an agreement from the Ministry of Health that it would not introduce a 12-hour work schedule for paramedics. The Ministry also agreed to remunerate employees’ overtime work and to have further meetings with the union to discuss how to increase salaries. The dispute had arisen following the Ministry’s decision to remove a wage supplement that had been introduced during the Covid pandemic and its plan to introduce a 12-hour work schedule
Fighting continues after the Russian army invaded Ukraine. The Ukrainian unions thank all for the messages of solidarity and support. It is now important to turn that in concrete assistance. The financial support via the ETUC/ITUC solidarity fund remains important.
