Health sector enters general strike: SANITAS accuses the Government of lack of dialogue. Protest schedule

Romania's healthcare system is heading towards a general strike. The SANITAS Federation announced on Tuesday a series of protest actions, after discussions with the Government regarding salaries, bonuses, and other employee rights yielded no concrete results.

What SANITAS Says About the Government

The National Council of the SANITAS Federation, convened on Tuesday in an extraordinary session, decided to declare a strike against the Government's economic and social policies across all units within the collective bargaining sector "Health". Trade union representatives say they reached this decision because the Government failed to respond to the notification sent by the federation in June, and the legal deadline stipulated under the Social Dialogue Act expired without any reply.

Reasons Behind Employees' Discontent

According to SANITAS, several pieces of legislation adopted over the past year have led to a reduction in the income and rights of healthcare and social care staff. The grievances cited include: cuts to bonuses for hazardous or harmful working conditions, a reduction in additional annual leave, restrictions on meal allowances and holiday vouchers based on salary level, as well as the draft new pay legislation, which the union considers inequitable and drawn up without genuine consultation with social partners.

What Employees Are Demanding

The Federation is calling for a return to the salary levels established under the Collective Labour Agreement, the reversal of cuts to bonuses and additional leave days, the non-discriminatory provision of meal allowances and holiday vouchers, and amendments to the draft pay legislation.

Further demands include the retention of the 15% shift bonus, the preservation of the 100% bonus for work carried out at weekends and on public holidays, the reintroduction of the working conditions bonus, the inclusion of administrative and technical staff (TESA) within the same pay annex as other employees, and the alignment of social care salaries with those in the non-clinical healthcare sector.

Protest Dates

Under the decision of the SANITAS National Council, a warning strike will take place on 20 August, between 09:00 and 11:00, followed by the launch of a general strike on 28 August. A National Strike Committee has been established to coordinate the actions, with representatives at national, county, and local level.

The SANITAS Federation maintains that this decision is a direct consequence of the Government's failure to engage in dialogue, and warns that current policies could jeopardise the functioning of the healthcare system, as well as affect the organisation's approximately 100,000 members.