Protesters showed up with placards on which they wrote “Respect and dignity for healthcare” or “Justice for healthcare”.
Workers demand that bonuses be paid to all staff within the health and social care system, full enforcement of the pay hikes for all employees within the system to eliminate inequities, and the granting of meal stamps all through 2018. They also call on the government to scrap its plan to transfer social security contributions from employers to employees.
Other requests include the elimination of mandatory extra on-call shifts for doctors and the negotiation and signing of the healthcare sector collective work agreement.
“I find the salary very low, only RON1,400. I have been working in the system for 30 years and I have two children I need to send to school and they do not have a father. There are so many single mothers. Nobody thinks about these things,” said Florica, a hospital cleaner.
“What are we going to do if they lower our salaries from January 1? I earn RON1,500 without the meal stamps,” said Ionela, another protester.
The rally snarled traffic in the Romanian capital.