Health
Public sector deals ensure real pay rises
Public sector workers will be covered by two new three-year agreements running from 1 April to the end of March 2024. The agreements covering municipal and state sector workers both have an overall value of 6.75% of the pay bill over the three years but the amounts are distributed differently. In the municipal agreement there will be a 5.02% general increase but there will be additional amounts allocated to address low pay, equal pay, recruitment and organisational issues, taking the overall increase to 5.94%. In the state sector there will be a 4.42% pay rise over the three years, with
Unions call on prime minister to tackle health crisis and bonus funding
The OSZSP health workers’ union and LOK doctors’ union have written a joint letter to the prime minister warning of the continuing crisis in healthcare, particularly in some regional hospitals. The unions say that services are at bursting point in some hospitals not just with the high-level of patients with COVID-19 but also with patients with longer-term symptoms. The unions have also called for additional funding to ensure that all health workers entitled to a COVID-19 bonus get their payments without delay and to avoid a repeat of the problems of payments during the first outbreak. They
Pay rise for general practice staff but no offer for central government workers
Staff working in medical general practices are set to get a 2% pay increase in a new agreement negotiated by the FNV and other trade unions. There will also be a structural 0.5% addition to the end-of-year bonus and a one-off increase of the same amount. There has also been an agreement on a homeworking allowance but no other significant provisions as the focus was on pay and for a short agreement (12 months to 31 December 2021), taking account of the difficult circumstances created by the pandemic. Meanwhile, central government workers are yet to get a pay offer from the employers who have
Private health sector continues to pose challenges to unions
Although the three main trade unions finally managed to negotiate a collective agreement with the Aris and Aiop employer organisations covering most worker in the private health sector, this is not the end of the story. Firstly, doctors working for employers in the Aiop private health organisation are not covered by an updated collective agreement in contrast to those employed by employers in the Aris organisation. Strike action was organised on 28 January to put pressure on Aiop. Meanwhile, the unions are in dispute with the La Nostra Famiglia care company over its decision to move 1600 of

EPSU’s comments on Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan
Unions angered by state intervention in private health and care dispute
The government has imposed compulsory arbitration in a dispute between unions representing health and care staff in the private and non-profit sector and the NHO employers’ organisation. The unions were taking strike action in support of their demand for higher pay rates that would bring pay in line with comparable collective agreements in health and care. The NHO was refusing to negotiate and then the national health board intervened claiming that the dispute was posing a danger to life and health. Each side will now present evidence to an independent wages board whose decision will then be
Little progress so far in negotiations in health and public administration
After four rounds of bargaining the FNV trade union is still waiting for a concrete offer from the employers in the negotiations covering University Medical Centres. The union has insisted that the offer should include a pay increase for all workers, improvements to the allowance for irregular work, an objective and transparent job evaluation scheme and measures related to pensions and workloads. The FNV is encouraging its members to continue their photo action highlighting the pressure that many workers have been under during the pandemic. Meanwhile, negotiations are also underway in central
Unions make joint call for negotiations
Public sector trade union federations have written to the new minister for public services to initiate negotiations for a new agreement covering public sector workers. They argue that there is a range of new and long-standing issues that need to be addressed not least increasing the workforce, creating job stability and reducing the level of temporary employment. There are also the questions of recovering lost purchasing power, improving working conditions and career and professional classification. More and better training, implementing equality plans and occupational health are among the
Healthcare union supports members in underpaid overtime claims
The HSSMS-MT nurses’ and technicians’ trade union is supporting over 1000 of its members in legal claims to secure compensation for underpaid overtime. The issue dates back to 2016 since when overtime pay rates for many workers failed to take account of certain allowances. The union has invited the health ministry to negotiate over the issue and to avoid the time and cost of the legal process but the court cases continue. It is estimated that the total amount of underpaid overtime is HRK 614 million, around EUR 80 million.