On Thursday, the Union of Professional Unions of Doctors of Medicine and Dentistry of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina organized and held a 30-minute warning strike in the territory of the entire Federation.
“Four months ago, we asked the Government of the Federation to negotiate a collective agreement that would standardize the rights of doctors in the FBiH, because currently the rights differ by up to 50 percent. So far, we have only received an empty promise from the Government that there will be negotiations, and a letter from Minister Rimac that he is ready to negotiate, but without a deadline for when to negotiate,” said Marina Berberović, president of the Association of Professional Unions of Doctors of Medicine and Dentistry in FBiH, in an interview for Fena.
Problems in healthcare, as she says, cannot be solved without a deadline.
“It turns out that they are just being pushed under the carpet with the promise that they will be solved, but there is no solution. The problems must be solved and we are asking the Government of FBiH for negotiations to unify the rights of doctors as soon as possible,” said Berberović.
She points out that the salary of a doctor is currently the lowest in Posavina Canton.
“In Posavina County, the difference is up to 50 percent, and as far as the hourly rate itself is concerned, it is the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton that has an hourly rate of 2.30 marks, while for example in Zenica it is 3.10 marks, in Sarajevo it is three marks, and these are huge differences that are and up to 35 percent only in the amount of the hourly wage,” stated Berberović.
If there is no response from the FBiH Government in the near future, Berberović emphasizes that he will use all legal forms of struggle.
“We will check with our lawyer that all forms of struggle are available to us except a strike, but it is not excluded that there will be a general strike, a protest, that health care will not stop only for 30 minutes like today, but that we will completely stop work if the Government of the Federation he does not take responsibility and does not begin to fulfill his promises,” she said.
Patients had to wait during the warning strike.
“Everything that was scheduled during the strike had to be moved 30 minutes later. It is not something big that the patients will feel today and they should not feel it because this is a warning to the Government that they are responsible if there is a general strike when there will be a complete stoppage of work that will be felt,” stressed Berberović, Fena reports.
Photo: Fena
