Croatia's trade union of medical transport services HSSP announced on Tuesday that its members throughout the country would stage strikes in solidarity with their colleagues in capital Zagreb, after their strike, launched last week, was banned by a court ruling on Monday.

Medical transports – which includes transports of patients needing regular oncology or dialysis therapy, or speedy transport of organs for transplantation, had went on strike last Wednesday in capital Zagreb, demanding that their job index – used to calculate salaries in all public services – should be equalised with that of ambulance drivers.

They say that their demands would cost some 2 million kuna (€270,000) per year. Their union says the problem dates from 2011 when medical transport was re-organised and split off from the rest of emergency medical services, which meant that the government-set job index – used to calculate salaries for employees in all public services – ended up set at a lower rate than that for other medical personnel.

This means that medical transport staff are paid 2,000-3,000 kuna (€270-€400) less on average every month, compared to their emergency ambulance colleagues.

Zagreb is served by 41 medical transport teams, which includes some 120 employees. During the strike, the service was not entirely suspended, with the legal minimum of 30 percent of teams put on active duty.

However, on Monday a Zagreb court ruled that the strike violates provisions of labour law and is therefore illegal, with strikers announcing that they would lodge a formal appeal to contest the ruling.

They added that they would in the meantime suspend their strike, from Wednesday this week, but also called on other medical transport personnel around the country to support their fight.

State agency Hina reported that some unionists had announced that medical transports in the towns of Karlovac, Bjelovar, Knin, and Sibenik would start a solidarity action by “working at a slower pace for a few hours each day.”

On Wednesday, the HSSP union said in a press release that its members would take steps to ensure continued service for “emergencies, and patients who need oncological and dialysis treatment on a regular basis” in towns affected by slowdowns.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article misidentified striking drivers and staff as operating emergency service ambulances rather than medical transports.