If the Ministry of Health and the Health Insurance Institute in Canton Sarajevo (CS) do not find the necessary material resources to sign the Collective Agreement, health workers will gather on Thursday, June 10th, for peaceful protests in front of the CS Government building, while on Monday, June 14th, they plan to suspend work and the vaccination process, as was decided after the emergency session of the Steering Board of the Trade Union of CS Healthcare Employees – Public Institution Health Centers.
The cantonal ministry of health promised them that the needed material resources would come out, but, after the emergency session of the Steering Board.
Jasmin Avdovic from the Trade Union of Health Care Workers of CS – Public Institution Health Centers, announced that on Monday, June 7th, he will meet with representatives of the Trade Union of the Sarajevo University Clinical Center (UKCS) and the Trade Union of Medicine and Dentistry in order to finalize joint cooperation and further steps unless the Collective Agreement is signed.
”The Steering Board concluded that on Thursday, June 10th hold a protest rally in accordance with epidemiological measures and next Monday, on June 14th, there will be an official suspension of work in health care, which is based on the fact that the strike was never stopped and we do not have to announce it to anyone anymore. A list of services that are provided as obligatory will be delivered to all our basic trade union units, organizations, while everything else, including probably the vaccination process, will be suspended, ” Avdovic stressed.
He added that the health workers no longer trust anyone.
“The fact is that after 22 months of the strike, 28 months of total agony, three changed governments, and a large number of health ministers and government representatives of CS, we don’t trust anyone. So, if it is true that they will ask for that million, let them keep looking and we will continue with what we have already promised our membership because our membership is outraged, all health workers are, to say the least, dissatisfied and outraged. We have an obligation since, in case of failure to reach an agreement, we announced that we will initiate those measures that were on hold because even though we are on strike for 22 months, services were still provided. In line with that promise we made to the membership, it is only needed to make preparations to protect the membership from mobbing and obstruction of the strike. However, it has been decided that the continuation of the strike will not happen this Monday, but on June 14th, and a protest rally will be organized on Thursday in front of the Government building, ” he told.
So far, health workers in CS have protested three times in front of the cantonal government building, since they have been waiting for the conclusion of the Collective Agreement for 22 months now, BHRT writes.
E.Dz.
