Slovenian health, social care workers strike for pay hikes

About 50,000 employees in the Slovenian health sector, excluding doctors and nurses, staged a one-day strike on Wednesday demanding better working conditions and higher wages, reported Xinhua.

In November 2021, the government decided to increase the wages of nurses by up to 25 percent, and in February last year it announced an average 25 percent pay rise for doctors, acknowledging their heavy workload during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, representatives of several trade unions have since turned to the Constitutional Court arguing that the government should raise the wages of all public sector workers, not just those of doctors and nurses.

Last week, the Constitutional Court said that doctors' wages cannot be increased until it rules on whether the increase is in line with the Constitution.

Nevertheless, pharmacists, physiotherapists, social workers, laboratory technicians, cleaners and many other health workers in hospitals, healthcare centers and centers for the elderly went on a strike on Wednesday demanding similar increases as were agreed for doctors.

During the strike, most hospitals and healthcare provided emergency services only.