Health Minister Vili Beros said in Osijek on Wednesday that a meeting with the organisers of the ongoing strike in the healthcare sector would take place on Thursday. He reiterated that the ministry does not have the mandate to respond to their demands and emphasised that he will not allow himself to be blackmailed.

Wednesday is the third day of the strike involving laboratory technicians, radiology technicians and nurses organised by the trade union Zajedno (Together). The union is demanding a 20% increase in basic salaries for its members, an adjustment of job coefficients and the reintroduction of meal allowances.

Beros says he would not accept blackmail

Beros said that on Wednesday strike led to the postponement of 855 examinations, adding that “today 69 fewer workers in nine health centres are on strike than yesterday.”

He said he would not accept blackmail or strikes as a means of pressure. He had invited union representatives to discuss their concerns, but as health minister he did not have the mandate to resolve issues relating to coefficients and basic pay.

Beros said that any potential inconsistencies in coefficients fell within the remit of the Ministry of Justice’s Council for the Assessment of the Impact of Coefficients Regulations in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour.

Regarding meal allowances and basic salary, he said that these issues were the subject of social dialogue and that negotiations on a new collective agreement would begin soon. He reiterated that material benefits have increased for all public sector employees, pointing out that “only comparable items should be compared.”

“I cannot support the cancellation of operations for children”

On the issue of health care during the strike, Beros said health facilities would reorganise themselves to carry out as many planned examinations and operations as possible.

“What I cannot support is the cancellation of operations for children, especially for serious illnesses. I will not go into details publicly now, we will deal with it in due course,” he said, referring to a cancelled operation due to the strike at the KBC Zagreb hospital.

Beros said that only a doctor can decide whether a patient’s tests, examinations or operations can be safely postponed.

Regarding ambulance drivers, he said that they protested when they learned that train drivers in a national park earn 18 euros more and that the Labour Ministry’s explanation, based on comparisons of job coefficients, is that train drivers in parks transport 20, 30 or 40 tourists.

Beros said that the body responsible for such discussions is not the Ministry of Health, but the council that assesses the impact of the coefficient regulations.