Negotiations between the Government of Sarajevo Canton and the Union of Healthcare Workers continue

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - At the invitation of the Minister of Health of Sarajevo Canton, Amela Sofić, the social dialogue between the Government of Sarajevo Canton and the Union of Healthcare Workers of the Canton continued today.

The Minister of Labor, Social Policy, Displaced Persons and Refugees of Sarajevo Canton, Malik Garibija, who is a member of the negotiating team, said that the Government of Sarajevo Canton offered to sign the existing collective agreement, and to continue negotiations in March in accordance with spending projections.

"Our primary focus is the interest of patients. Salary increases for healthcare workers over the past two years have unfortunately not led to an increase in the quality and volume of services. Our focus is on building capacity for understaffed personnel, we adopted a program for financing severely ill children, secured all pregnant women and new mothers... We are investing in the quality of healthcare services paid for by our citizens," said Garibija, adding that at this moment it is unknown how the new veterans' law will affect the spending of the Health Insurance Fund of Sarajevo Canton.

The positions of the union remain unchanged; their demands on an annual basis amount to 31 million convertible marks, and according to available statistics from the Health Insurance Fund, that money is not available.

From the Government, they stated that they are confident that the Union also primarily has in mind the quality of service and patient satisfaction, and expressed hope that during the negotiations they will find a way to harmonize positions so that patients do not suffer and so that together they can provide them with the best possible healthcare.

The continuation of negotiations is announced for Monday.