Sanitas: Hospital Strike Continues on Wednesday, Following Talks at the Ministry of Health

The President of the Sanitas Federation, Iulian Pope, declared on Tuesday, at the conclusion of discussions at the Ministry of Health regarding the pay legislation, that the protest within the healthcare system would continue on Wednesday as well.

Pope explained that the meeting had not produced any concrete results: "Few positive conclusions, with a great many issues still under analysis. In our view, there remain quite enough scenarios that would lead to income losses for our colleagues. And a considerable number of them would be placed on those transitional pay levels. That is the conclusion from today's discussions." He noted that the meeting had been technical in nature, held without the participation of the Minister of Health, which meant that no decisions could be taken. "We also understood how the Ministry of Health supports some of our proposals, as that was the nature of yesterday's discussion, but at this point there is no guarantee whatsoever that these matters can be resolved," the union leader added.

When asked directly whether the strike would continue on Wednesday, Pope replied: "In principle, yes, unfortunately."

According to him, the final decision now rests with the political parties: "We all know that this Government cannot make decisions (…) and we are once again calling on the political class to give us a Government with full powers, one with which we can negotiate and resolve the problems within the system," the Sanitas president stated.

The Sanitas Federation launched a general strike in hospitals on Tuesday as a form of protest against the draft pay legislation. Federation representatives stated that, throughout the duration of the protest, emergency services and complex medical cases would continue to be covered.