Recruitment & organising, Health, Czech Republic

(February 2017) The OSZSP healthworkers' union announced strike action on 8 February in the emergency services in the South Moravia region. The union there had been trying to resolve a number of issues including excessive workloads, staff shortages, problems with implementing the collective agreement and discrimination in pay. The strike action was called after management not only failed to propose any concrete solutions but took decisions that only worsened the situation.

Public sector trade unions met on 30th August to give a clear message to the government that there should be no further delay in paying the 10% salary increase for all public service workers. The unions accused the government of delay as it had already indicated that the promised increase would be applied from November rather than September. The unions said that they had been negotiating in good faith since April and would be joining a national demonstration on pay on 14 September to underline their message to the government.

The coalition government has confirmed that it will implement a 10% pay rise for public sector workers (15% for teachers) in November. Public sector trade unions had expected the increases to be applied in September and issued a threat of strike action if the government failed to ensure that the increases would take effect in November.

In a press release confirming the implementation this month of a 10% pay increase for public service workers, the OSZSP health union underlines the role of the trade union in these successful negotiations. The increase this year means that hospital workers have seen an overall pay rise of 30% in the last four years while workers in social services have seen a 26% increase. Meanwhile, social workers and direct care workers have seen their pay rise by 47.5% over the same period. The union recognises that low pay is still a challenge in health and social services and is committed to win further

Around 150 trade unionists from the health sector attended a meeting with the Prime Minister and Health Minister organised by the OSZSP trade union. The main focus of the meeting was on pay and concerns expressed by the union about the many health workers who do the same job but are on different rates of pay. OSZSP also wants a guarantee from the government that it will honour the agreement to pay all health workers a 10% increase in January 2019. It is worried about statements from the Health Minister that the pay rise should be allocated differently. While welcoming the Prime Minister's

The OSZSP health and social care union issued a strike alert on 17 August following lack of progress in negotiations on wage and salary increases and the failure of the Ministry of Health to fulfil earlier promises. The union believes action on pay is essential in order to ensure recruitment to the health service and the effective functioning of hospitals. OSZSP argues that the staffing crisis threatens the extent and quality of the care provided, particularly in some smaller hospitals. The union will coordinate the next steps with the Medical Trade Union - the Association of Czech Physicians

Workers in public administration and some other public services will see their pay rise by at least 5% in 2019, with higher increases for low-paid workers in some areas including the departments of justice, culture, labour and social administration. There will higher increases of 15% and 10% for teachers and non-teaching staff in education while the security forces will get between 2% and 6%. The increase for health workers has yet to be confirmed. The OSZSP health union wants a pay rise of 10% across the board which it argues has been promised by the prime minister. However, the health

The OSZSP health union took part in a tripartite meeting with the health minister and health employers last month with pay and staffing high on the agenda. The union is still seeking confirmation from the government that the 10% pay increase offered to health workers will be implemented from 1 January and that it will apply to all health workers. It warns that problems with the health service will arise if workers in some areas don't benefit from the same pay increase. The union has called for data on hospitals, patient numbers, staffing and average pay along with information on overtime hours

In a recent tripartite meeting the OSZSP health union made the case for increased funding for health and social care and for initiatives to recruit more staff. The prime minister and health minister made claims about the need to focus more spending on investment in health rather than pay and argued that pay rates should only increase by 2-3% and suggested that pay was no longer an issue for many staff. The OSZSP said that a recent survey showed that 75% of health workers saw increased pay as a key factor in retaining workers in the sector. The union also argued that overall health funding was