Doctors‘ unions give Health Ministry two months to resolve promised rises

Doctors’ unions meeting to assess the performance of pay rises negotiated with the Health Ministry last year say they will give the government two months to resolve the situation. Insisting that the agreed 10% rise be respected, the unions say they will discuss a protest at their April congress. Early last year, hospital doctors threatened to resign en masse if the ministry did not raise their salaries by 10%. At the end of 2011 however, the health minister reneged on the agreement citing the poor economic situation and promised a 6.25% increase. Since then doctors’ salaries have been raised only in certain state hospitals. Hospitals in various regions are not paying the increases citing a decrease in money from insurance companies. Mr Heger says the hospitals have the money but are unwilling to raise the salaries.