Monday, a 2-hour strike in over 500 hospitals, against the new pay law

On Monday, over 500 hospitals across Romania will suspend operations for two hours, between 09:00 and 11:00, as part of a protest organised by healthcare trade unions. The action comes in response to the current form of the draft legislation on pay and allowances for medical staff.

What will happen between 09:00 and 11:00

According to union representatives, no consultations, diagnostic investigations, or admissions will take place during the protest period — neither in hospitals nor in specialist outpatient clinics. The only exception is medical emergencies, which will be handled as normal.

The reasons behind the discontent

Trade unionists say that the recent amendments to the draft legislation fail to address the concerns raised previously and, moreover, introduce new inequities into the system. One of the main objections relates to the restriction of the 50% allowance granted for particularly hazardous working conditions to no more than 10% of employees within a given healthcare facility.

Employee representatives are warning that the legislation does not clearly set out the criteria by which recipients of this allowance will be selected, which could lead to unfair and inconsistent treatment among colleagues within the same system.

General strike remains on the agenda for 28 July

The unions have announced that the legal procedures for calling a general strike are continuing, with the action scheduled for 28 July. To date, over 50,000 signatures have been collected from healthcare workers — a figure that is said to reflect the number of people willing to take part in the strike.

The trade union organisations are warning that protest action will continue if discussions with the authorities do not result in concrete solutions regarding pay and allowances.