Slovak physicians are warning that they may submit mass resignation notices to demonstrate their frustration over poor pay and low status, following the example of their Czech colleagues who used a similar tactic earlier in 2011. Medical Trade Unions Association (LOZ) chairman Michal Polician said while it is unclear how many doctors might submit such notices, he expects physicians who are not members of LOZ to join the protest. Polician said the threat of mass resignation could be ended only if the government meets the healthcare unions’ demands, including observance of the restrictions on working hours in the Labour Code and a gradual increase in health-care workers’ salaries so that they reach between 1.5 and three times the average wage by 2013, depending on qualifications. Anton Szalay, chairman of the Trade Union of Medical and Social Services Employees (SOZZaSS), said he considers the option of mass resignation a very last resort, but added that his union will talk with LOZ to discuss the protest action and will survey its members about their attitudes towards this tactics.
English: http://spectator.sme.sk/articles/view/42646/3/doctors_threaten ...
This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.