The government and trade unions in the healthcare sector on Friday initialled an annex to the branch collective agreement whereby additions to salaries in this sector are regulated.

The document was inked in Government House after the two sides agreed on a 7-percent rise in wages of the healthcare sector as of 1 September.

The agreement reached on Friday morning envisages a 3% increase on working conditions for all employees in the sector plus 4% for responsible duties performed by those included in the process of diseases diagnosis and treatment.

For this purpose, the government is supposed to set aside HRK 400 million (€ 54 million) annually.

After the initialling of the document, Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said that the sides had tried to reach a solution that was realistic and best in the current circumstances.

He underscores that during the term of his cabinet the wage base for state employees and public servants increased by 11.5%.

Plenkovic said that the seven percent increase was viable in the fiscal sense for this and next year.

Health Minister Milan Kujundzic said that the agreement was a possible compromise.

Unionist Brankica Grguric said that they were given guarantees that the annex to the collective agreement would be signed after it had been initialled.

Unionist Stjepan Topolnjak said that all workers in the healthcare sector would not be satisfied, however, under the existing circumstances, this increase was the highest they could achieve at the negotiations.