HNK healthcare workers to go on general strike from Monday

(Patria) - The Municipal Court in Mostar has not banned healthcare workers in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNK) from holding a general strike, after a full review and inspection of the documentation.

This information was confirmed to Faktor by the president of the HNK Healthcare Workers' Union, Dalibor Vuković.

This means that on Monday, August 25, at eight o'clock in the morning, almost 4,000 healthcare workers – from cleaners to master pharmacists – will go on a general strike.

"We are going on strike on Monday at eight o'clock, and we received notification from the court that a hearing is scheduled for 9:15 AM, at which both sides will present their evidence and discuss the security measure. Only the protest is postponed, as union representatives will participate in the hearing that day," Vuković explained.

As stated by the Union, the strike will most affect patients, as only emergency cases will be admitted.

"Doctors will work, and our union members will only perform tasks that are contracted in public healthcare institutions through an agreement on jobs that are not interrupted during a strike. This means that only emergency cases will be admitted, while other workers come to work but do not perform their duties," Vuković emphasized.

The HNK Healthcare Workers' Union has been trying for months to negotiate with the HNK Government and the Ministry of Health to sign an annex to the collective agreement. Due to the failure in negotiations, workers have already protested twice, demanding a salary increase.

We remind you that the unions of doctors of medicine and dentistry, and healthcare workers in HNK signed collective agreements for a fixed period during 2023. The agreement for doctors expires this month, while the agreement for healthcare workers lasts until December 2025.

The position of the HNK Government was that new rights could not be demanded during the term of the collective agreement. However, in the meantime, the rights of doctors of medicine and dentistry have been increased twice, even though their contract has not expired. This has caused dissatisfaction among other healthcare workers, who are now demanding the same rights.

The Minister of Health of HNK, Milenko Bevanda, previously stated that healthcare workers are not entitled to a salary increase or a general strike.

"Our opinion is that they made no mistakes in the procedure, but we believe they have no reason for a general strike because the current collective agreement is valid until December 1st," said Bevanda.

Despite this, the strike begins on Monday, and healthcare workers say they will not give up on their demands for better working conditions and higher salaries.