Latvian Trade Union of Health and Social Care Workers (LVSADA) has submitted to the Latvian Ministry of Health a request to comply with the trilateral agreement on the increase of wages in the healthcare sector, LVSADA representatives say.
The trade union has sent a letter with the request to Minister of Health Līga Meņģelsone, the top state officials and social partners.
The agreement itself was reached at the 7th of March meeting of the Healthcare Sub-Committee of the National Council for Trilateral Cooperation.
LVSADA stresses that this agreement stipulates that if additional funds are allocated to the Ministry of Health from the budget during this year, then the increase in the average monthly wages and salaries of doctors and employees of medical institutions who are not medical practitioners is to be included among the priorities for this funding.
The letter mentions that the aforementioned decisions concerns the increase of medium wages for doctors and functional specialists at 4.5% in order for the increase to reach 16% in two years, which is similar to other medical personnel. It is also mentioned that it is also important to ensure pay increase for medical institution workers who are not medical personnel.
To remind officials about the agreement, LVSADA sent the Ministry of Health a letter in June. In it, the trade union invites the ministry to calculate the surplus funding necessary to implement the agreement, as well as to include said funding towards various priorities.
However, according to the trade union, the response letter from the ministry implies that the trilateral agreement will not be implemented, because “the agreement stipulates that if additional funds are allocated to the MoH from the reallocation of the budget during this year, then the increase in the average monthly wages and salaries of doctors and employees of medical institutions who are not medical practitioners is included among the priorities for use.”
LVSADA chairman Valdis Keris rejects such an argument from the ministry, stressing that it is important to stress that without a sufficient number of qualified workers, patients won’t be able to receive necessary services in a timely manner.
“Unless the Ministry of Health is planning on introducing self-service practice in healthcare institutions. This is why it is wrong pitting accessibility of services against adequate pay in the sector!” said Keris.
LVSADA invites the ministry to negotiate about the use of additional funding for healthcare in 2023 and 2024.
If the ministry ignores invitations for negotiations and continues looking for ways to weasel out of the agreement, LVSADA will have to start pre-strike planning.
Previously it was reported that LVSADA remains unhappy with the funding amount provided to the country’s healthcare sector.
The trade union claims that what Minister of Finance Arvils Ašeradens said about Latvia meeting the minimal financing level recommended by the World Health Organisation – 12% of state budget expenditures – is not true.
LVSADA work coordinator Inga Rudzīte told the media that
in accordance with WHO experts’ recommendations, state healthcare funding needs to reach at least 12% of general government expenditures.
LVSADA estimates that Latvia’s healthcare budget reaches only 9.6% of general government expenditures.
Also read: Latvian doctors still unhappy with the funding allocated towards healthcare