The doctors of medicine and dentistry of the Tuzla Canton gathered today at Trg Slobode in Tuzla, where, on the second day of the protest, they repeated the demand for harmonization of the coefficients of expertise with other cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, warning that otherwise they could start a strike.
President of the Professional Union of Doctors of Medicine and Dentistry TK prof. Ph.D. Elvira Konjić said that the protests are not just a fight for higher incomes, but for the preservation of the public health system.
“The government thinks it can appease us with money, but we are not social cases. We earned our wages. We are fighting so that our fellow citizens, especially those with minimal incomes, are not left without accessible health care,” said Konjić.
She pointed out that doctors always have the possibility of employment in other places, while the citizens of Tuzla Canton depend on the public health system.
“Doctors always have an alternative, but citizens have no other option than public health,” Konjić added.
President of the Assembly of the Trade Union dr. Mirsad Šljivić warned about the departure of doctors from the Tuzla Canton, stating that since the beginning of 2026, eight specialists have already left the canton.
“We have an increasingly pronounced internal migration. Doctors are leaving for other cantons where salaries are up to 30 percent higher or they are going abroad,” said Šljivić.
The union is demanding that the coefficient for doctors of medicine and dentistry be 5.20, for specialists 6.00, and for subspecialists 6.20, while the Government of the Canton of Tuzla proposes coefficients of 5.15 for doctors of medicine, 5.80 for specialists and 6.00 for subspecialists.
The union emphasizes that the differences in coefficients are minimal, but that they are important as recognition of expertise and equal status of doctors compared to colleagues in other cantons.
If an agreement is not reached with the Tuzla Canton Government by the beginning of next week, the Union has announced the initiation of legal procedures that could lead to the organization of a strike in healthcare institutions, Fena writes.
