- I'm ready to sign three national averages even today, if doctors will work on an employment contract and not on contracts," Health Minister Izabela Leszczyna said in an interview with Polish Radio Program 3. She also referred to the demands for nurses' and midwives' salaries under the civic bill.
Izabela Leszczyna: Three national averages for doctors? Yes, but under an employment contract
Published Feb. 15, 2024 10:57
A citizen's bill on health care salaries is scheduled to start work on February 21. The cost of the raises demanded by nurses is estimated to be at least 10 billion zlotys. Health Minister Izabela Leszczynska said in an interview that there would be no money to cover this demand.
- We have a law on minimum wages for the medical profession. The table, which determines the indicators, is quite unhappily arranged, and it has not gained the approval of the various medical professions from the beginning. However, it is necessary to work. I spoke with the chairman of the National Trade Union of Nurses and Midwives Krystyna Ptok. I'm sure that we will meet in such a place to appreciate the work of nurses on the one hand, and on the other - not to expose the budget to problems," the Health Minister said.
The National Doctors' Trade Union's demand to set wages at a minimum of three national averages is also back on the table.
- I'm ready to sign three national averages even today, if doctors will work on an employment contract and not on contracts," said Izabela Leszczyna.
OZZL referred to the declaration in a social media post.
"We are very pleased with the proposal to fulfill a long-standing demand of the OZZL. Let's do it together. Labor Agreements are also a return to the provisions of the Labor Code. Let's put an end to the state of emergency introduced on the occasion of the COVID pandemic. A doctor should have the right to vacation and normalized working hours like any other citizen," the union writes.
"However, let's remember that good working conditions are not only high salaries. It's also qualified staff, safe treatment and an efficient system, which requires further changes in public health care," OZZL adds.
