Trade unions and associations of Croatian doctors said on Wednesday that they would start preparations for labour actions, including work stoppage, if the government does not meet their demands by the end of this month.

After our bad experience from last April and the government’s failure to deliver on our agreement, we demand that the government now fulfills all that we have already agreed, the leader of the Croatian Doctors’ Trade Union (HLS), Renata Culinovic-Caic, said at a news conference.

The HLS, as well as the Croatian Medical Chamber (HLK), the HUBOL association of hospital doctors, the coordinating body of GPs (KoHOM) and the Young Doctors’ Initiative expect an official proposal for adequate job coefficients for physicians.

The proposal currently on the table is regarded by those associations as unacceptable.

The Young Doctors’ Initiative insists on the abolition of contracts that oblige residents to continue working for the institution that has paid for their residency for at least as many years as their residency lasted.

According to data from the HLK presented in late April 2023, at least 1,148 doctors in Croatia work under contracts which include a provision under which, in case they opt for early contract termination, they have to pay back to their employer the gross amount of their salaries for a period equivalent to the duration of their residency(usually five years).

Doctors also demand the opening of negotiations on their collective agreements.