Romanian health trade unions have threatened spontaneous strikes in hospitals across the country to demand wage increases for healthcare workers.
The Health Solidarity Federation says it wants wages to be hiked for all employees including technical and administrative staff as they battle the pandemic.
The union called on its members to go outside during their lunch break and to stay behind at the end of the day to make their demands known.
Health workers in the Danube port of Tulcea on Wednesday protested outside the county hospital to demand wage increases for all healthcare sector employees.
Strikes in the health sector are illegal during the current state of alert which was imposed at the beginning of the pandemic.
”Only a mass movement will give us a real chance of getting the salaries we deserve,” the Federation said in a statement to News.ro.
SANITAS the biggest health trade union said all its members would wear armbands , known as a “Japanese strike.’
The action is intended to show workers’ demands but not to seriously disrupt their activity.
Romania spends the lowest amount of its GDP on health in the European Union. Thousands of medics have emigrated in recent years for better jobs abroad further undermining the already dilapidated public health system.
Health sector salaries were extremely low until 2017 when they were substantially hiked in an effort to stop bribes and unofficial payments. Discrepancies remain and some healthcare staff have low salaries.
However, envelopes stuffed with banknotes and other kickbacks are still common in hospitals, according to reports.
