Contents
The Seym passed pay rises for nurses and midwives. So will they earn even 7 a month? PLN 304? – There was supposed to be a historic raise, there is a historic flop – says Krystyna Ptok, president of the trade union.
- – The Ministry of Health and the National Health Fund expect directors of medical institutions to cut costs. It still seems to the rulers that it is easiest to save money on medical personnel – emphasizes Ptok
- The changes pose a risk of degrading nurses and midwives: they will be classified as lower pay groups
- Will there be strikes? The key date is August 10, which is the day of payment of wages for July. It is possible that where collective disputes take place, they may take place, the chairwoman warns
- On August 2, nurses and midwives from the Specialist Hospital in Sanok will leave the patients’ beds, as they do not agree to the disproportions between earnings in their profession
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Amendments to the act on salaries in health care prepared by the Ministry of Health (Ministry of Health) divided nurses and midwives into three groups. From 1 July this year, their minimum wages will be 5. 323 PLN, 5 Th. PLN 775 and PLN 7 thousand 304 zlotys, depending on education.
– The basic error of this amendment is the division only according to education. And it is not even owned, but required by employers. This is in contradiction with the statutory obligation of continuous education in our professions – says Krystyna Ptok, president of the National Trade Union of Nurses and Midwives (OZZPiP).
Nurses and midwives: will there be enough pay rise for all of us?
There are many controversies around the pay rise bill. Let us recall: in the spring of this year, the Sejm unanimously passed an amendment to the act on the method of determining the remuneration of employees employed in hospitals and clinics, and President Andrzej Duda signed the document.
The problem is that neither the Ministry of Health nor the National Health Fund provide information on where to get the money for this large budget difference. The medical community was in turmoil. There were many speculations and doubts: “Will it be enough for the pay rises for all of us?”, “Will we even notice them on our stripes?”, “Surely, in order to save money, hospitals will save for us?”, “They will deceive us again?”.
– Contrary to the declarations of the ministry, the act introduced chaos in several issues: uncertainty as to the timely payment of money, recognition of professional qualifications, and even fear for continuity of employment. It is not surprising that the NFZ and the Ministry of Health expect cost cutting from directors of medical institutions, which the latter should protest against. It still seems to the rulers that it is easiest to save money on medical personnel. Unfortunately, we have only one payer in the country, i.e. the National Health Fund. And it is he who dictates the terms of the directors of the institutions – emphasizes Ptok.
They will degrade us
The head of OZZPiP has long warned that the introduced changes contain dangerous provisions.
– From the very beginning of work on this law, our union pointed to those provisions that infringe upon acquired employee rights. One of them says, for example, that from 1 July this year we will get annexes to employment contracts. Due to the limited amount of money transferred from the National Health Fund, it carries the risk of degrading nurses and midwives, as they will be classified as lower pay groups. It is connected with the unlawful non-recognition of our professional qualifications – Ptok is worried and adds that the union opinions were not taken into account.
– The act was introduced so defectively that we were prevented from negotiating wage agreements with employers guaranteed by law. As I predicted: right now I am getting signals that hospital directors are degrading nurses and midwives, so their payments will amount to around 2. PLN less. We know that this downward “equation” of wages results from the lack of money, which was not to be lacking – he explains.
Violation of employee rights
April report «Nurse, midwife. Shortage occupations in the Polish health care system »indicates that almost 30 percent those practicing this profession are people aged 61-70. 36 percent are nurses and midwives aged 51-60 years.
—In our professions we are dealing with a permanent staff deficit and the resulting lack of generational replacement. Working conditions and earnings in our difficult professions are important, so the state should take special care of nurses and midwives, argues the president.
Meanwhile, information from places where heads of institutions do not recognize the current qualifications of medical personnel are successively received by OZZPiP.
– After all, our education and qualifications do not change suddenly! For 10-15 years someone had professional competences recognized by the employer. And now suddenly, by looking for savings, he will be moved to a lower pay group. That is why we warn our members not to sign these annexes to employment contracts without consulting the trade union organization. This situation affects acquired employee rights, which is associated with lawsuits for compensation. I suppose that labor courts will have a lot of cases – predicts Ptok.
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Will there be strikes?
The collective dispute with employers continues, and nurses and midwives are waiting for the July salary.
– Instead of degrading employees to lower groups by not recognizing their education, financial incentives should be used for people with the greatest professional experience. Unfortunately, the rulers decided to lower wages. In this way, they discourage people from working in our professions, and at the same time they strongly divide the environment – adds the president.
In many institutions there are collective disputes with employers, and nurses and midwives are waiting for the July payment.
– The next key date is August 10, which is the day of payment of wages for July. Will there be strikes? It is possible that warning strikes may take place where collective disputes take place. Such a strike is planned for August 2 at the hospital in Sanok. This amendment is an obvious blooper. Historical increases were announced, and in the meantime there is a historical flop – ends Krystyna Ptok.
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