Pavićević: In the spring, the law will define everything about salaries in health care

All matters related to wages in health care will be defined by the Law on wages in the public sector, which will be ready in the spring, said Deputy Prime Minister for Labor, Education, Health and Social Affairs Srđan Pavićević, after today's meeting with representatives of representative health unions.

He said, among other things, that there can be no "one-sided statements and ultimatums", and that dialogue is the "initial premise".

"Today's meeting is the beginning of discussions between all relevant representatives of the Government and representatives of the independent and representative health trade union regarding the announced strike in connection with low incomes, i.e. the need for salary increases. I am very glad that colleagues from both sides understood that this is a process of agreement and that this process cannot be opened and closed in one meeting. Especially, that no decisions and attitudes can be made a priori. A posteriori can be brought when we have exhausted all topics, relevant inputs and all possibilities. I would not like us to run into the public with things that are arbitrary and untrustworthy. Namely, the position of the Government, the Ministry of Health and the Cabinet of the Vice-President, whose authority is health, is that we will define all matters related to wages in health care with the Law on wages in the public sector, which will be ready in the spring," Pavićević said.

He said that the law will be an umbrella document that will try to correct "all the anomalies that exist now". "Specifically, for mid-level medical staff and non-medical staff, it is very important to make a stratification of everything their income means, because we cannot give mid-level medical staff the same income regardless of the complexity of their work and the amount of risk," he adds.

He said that the Law on Salaries in the Public Sector "should be done together, on the principle of partnership".

"Government representatives and trade union representatives must sit down at the table and do everything in our power to distribute what we have in the best possible way. And this means that the Law needs to undergo significant changes and modifications so that in the second step, the Branch Collective Agreement, relying on the Law, could nuance the specifics regarding the hiring of medical and non-medical personnel," says Pavićević.

He said that the talks "have only just begun".

"Even if someone wants to present this meeting as the end of the story, I am deeply convinced that this is only the beginning. Without dialogue between the relevant interlocutors and social partners, we cannot come to conclusions and solutions. Finally, in this country, we must understand that there is not and cannot be there will be unilateral statements and ultimatums. Dialogue is the initial premise. And our talks have only just begun. They will certainly be complex because they have to provide the best solutions that will satisfy both sides," says the Deputy Prime Minister.

As he said, the Ministry of Finance is the authority that will say whether there is room for an increase.

"That's why this meeting is on their territory. I personally believe that we should not be rigid. That we must understand that healthcare is not a profitable activity. It is an activity that packs a product that has no price. That product is called the health of the nation. A healthy nation can do anything. A sick nation can't do anything," concludes Pavićević.