Sarajevo Canton medical practitioners win salary increase

The medical practitioners had only one demand towards the Government and it was a salary increase.

After reaching the agreement, cantonal Health Minister Zilha Ademaj called on union members to break the strike.

The healthcare employees, trade union initiated the strike some two weeks ago, saying the local government failed to comply with provisions of the collective agreement they signed last year.

According to the collective agreement, the cantonal government should meet with the union every three months in order to evaluate the increase of the salary coefficient depending on the revenues in the budget of the cantonal Healthcare Institute.

The Municipal Court ruled last Thursday that the strike was illegal and banned it, ordering that all protesters return to their jobs.

Despite the court ruling, the union decided to continue the strike which resulted in a compromise by which doctors of medicine and dentists will get an increase of salary base coefficients by 0.4 percent while medical practitioners’ salary base coefficient will rise by 0.3 percent.

The agreements with both unions will be signed on Tuesday and heads of both unions announced they would break their strikes after they sign the said agreements.