SANITAS Suspends Healthcare Strike, Calls for Resumption of Pay Legislation Negotiations

The SANITAS Trade Union Federation announced on Friday, 31 July 2026, the suspension of the general strike carried out across the healthcare system. According to union representatives, the decision does not signal the end of the dispute, but rather offers "an opportunity for the political sphere to reset and resume negotiations for a new pay legislation".

In a message published on the organisation's Facebook page, SANITAS states that its objectives for the coming period are to negotiate a different pay bill, "fairer, more coherent and more equitable", with "a political body holding legal decision-making authority – either Parliament or a legitimately appointed government".

The strike will remain suspended until a new draft law on the pay of publicly funded staff is brought forward. In the meantime, healthcare employees will wear armbands, and the union states that, should no solutions be found to the demands put forward, the general strike can legally be resumed without the need to go through all the procedural stages required by law.

What SANITAS says about the results of the strike

In the message addressed to union members, the federation's leadership states: "Today we can say with full conviction: We succeeded! We were heard! We have demonstrated that SANITAS is an organised, determined and united force. Our strike has achieved a first objective: to make the reality of the public healthcare and social care systems known."

The union highlights two concrete outcomes achieved during this period: on 29 July, the Chamber of Deputies approved an amendment to the Health Act, allowing the unblocking of vacant posts in healthcare within the limits of the approved budget, and the adoption of the Law on the Pay of Publicly Funded Staff was, at the very least, postponed.

SANITAS maintains that the pay bill promoted by the parties in the caretaker government "no longer exists", from the organisation's perspective: "We spent several weeks explaining why it is an inequitable project devoid of economic logic. We backed our arguments with calculations and presented them across every possible platform: politicians, parliamentary parties, the media, and so on. We demonstrated that the law was flawed even to World Bank experts. We also obtained a court ruling confirming that the Bolojan government is a caretaker administration and no longer holds the political authority to draft and promote a bill."

The Sanitas National Council decided to suspend the general strike, stating that it will revisit this decision once a new pay bill is registered in Parliament. The union also explains its reasoning for the suspension: "In doing so, we are also reducing the pressures on the public health system, on patients and on staff, out of respect and care for each of them."

Support from other trade unions

SANITAS announces that, together with five trade union confederations, it has extended its actions in a new direction, joining unions from education, public administration, culture and other public sectors in supporting the negotiation of a new pay bill with the political bodies that hold or will hold the mandate to make decisions. The joint communiqué from CNSLR-Frăţia, Cartel Alfa, BNS, CSDR and Meridian was published on Wednesday, 29 July 2026.