Protests at hundreds of hospitals in Romania

Healthcare workers at hundreds of hospitals in Bucharest and across the country went on a warning strike Monday morning due to dissatisfaction with the provisions of the new pay law and the hiring freeze in the healthcare system.

The unions warn that if the authorities do not respond to their demands, they will launch a general strike beginning on July 28.

The protests will take place between 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. At the Floreasca Emergency Clinical Hospital in Bucharest, dozens of doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, and orderlies temporarily stopped working to participate in the protest. They displayed banners with messages such as “Stop humiliating healthcare workers” and “Make healthcare a priority.”

During the warning strike, medical services were provided by approximately one-third of the staff, and emergency cases were treated without restrictions, according to the organizers.

The union members’ grievances are primarily related to the new draft law on salaries in the public sector. Employee representatives argue that, although the document was amended following negotiations that continued even over the weekend, the current version introduces unfavorable rules for granting bonuses.

According to union leaders, bonuses will no longer be granted exclusively based on working conditions but will be divided into three categories. Bonuses in the first tier could be granted to no more than 10% of employees, while those in the second and third tiers would be granted to a maximum of 20% of employees.

General strike announced

Union representatives say this system will perpetuate income disparities among employees and will not resolve issues related to pay equity in the healthcare system.

Representatives of the labor unions have announced that they will submit their proposals to the political parties later today.

They are awaiting the meeting scheduled for Tuesday with representatives of the political parties and hope to be received by the Presidential Administration as well, following their request to hold discussions at Cotroceni Palace.

The SANITAS Federation, the largest labor union in the healthcare sector, has already announced that it will launch a general strike beginning July 28 if employees’ demands are not resolved following negotiations with the authorities.