Pellegrini Signs Amendment to Law Concerning Salaries of Health-care Workers

Bratislava, November 14 (TASR) - President Peter Pellegrini signed an amendment to the law concerning the salaries of health-care providers on Thursday. Thanks to the amendment, nurses' and paramedics' salaries will increase by 9.7 percent in yearly terms, compared to the 3 percent increase originally planned under the recently approved consolidation of public finances. Doctors' salaries will also grow faster than envisioned in consolidation, namely by 6.4 percent instead of the planned 3 percent. The president said he views higher salaries for health-care workers as an important stabilising factor in the Slovak health-care sector. "That is why, following a recent meeting with representatives from all branches of the health sector, I asked the government to find additional funds for a faster growth of health-care workers' salaries than was foreseen by the consolidation efforts," he noted. He expressed appreciation that this initiative has now been translated into law, calling it a solid foundation for further negotiations aimed at stabilising the health-care sector and preventing patients from becoming involved in disputes between the government and doctors. The Health Ministry, which presented the proposal, wanted the changes to prevent mass resignations of medical staff in hospitals. Previously, the government slowed the indexation of health-care workers' salaries for 2025 and 2026 by adopting the consolidation package, reducing a planned 9.7-percent increase to 3 percent. These changes have been criticised by health-care workers across the sector, with nurses and doctors threatening to resign and refusing to engage in overtime shifts. Despite the amendment, more than 3,300 doctors from hospitals across the country have already submitted their resignations. tl/zel/mcs