Sasko to Meet Representatives of Health-care Workers on Monday

Bratislava, October 14 (TASR) - Health Minister Kamil Sasko (Voice-SD) is set to meet representatives of doctors and and health-care professionals on Monday afternoon in the hope of finding a compromise, as in his opinion there is no other way to resolve the situation at hand, he himself has reported on Facebook. "The road to an agreement won't be easy, but it is necessary if the Slovak patient is not to become a hostage of this situation. I understand the government's desire to carry out the necessary consolidation of public finances after previous years of irresponsible spending. I understand the desire of health-care workers for better salary conditions," wrote Sasko. On Monday morning, the health minister held talks with Finance Minister Ladislav Kamenicky (Smer-SD) and partners of the Social and Economic Council. According to Sasko, they went over the possibilities of public finances in finding an agreement with health-care workers. Health-care workers across the sector have rejected proposed consolidation measures in the health-care sector and called on President Peter Pellegrini not to sign them in their current form. The president has called on the government to address their demands and seek a compromise after meeting with representatives of health-care workers last week. He declared that his eventual signing of the package would depend on the negotiations. zel/df