Nurses in Slovakia will receive a pay increase this year, amounting to €250 per month. The bonus will replace the stabilization allowance introduced by the previous government three years ago. While the Nurses and Midwives Trade Union welcomes the pay rise, it says it is not enough and wants to discuss further changes with the health minister.
In December, the stabilization allowance expired for nurses who had committed in 2022 to stay with the same employer for three years in exchange for a gross payment of €5,000. Union representatives and the health minister agreed that nurses would receive a monthly bonus of €250 this year. “The contribution applies to all nurses working in hospitals in Slovakia. It is a nationwide stabilization measure and is set to be paid every month throughout 2026,” said Health Ministry spokesperson Veronika Daničová.
“The basic, standard nurse salary is set at the level of the average wage in the national economy from two years ago, which this year is around €1,600. When you add the €250, it is a nice bonus,” said healthcare expert and former state secretary at the Ministry of Health Jana Ježíková. According to Monika Kavecká, chairwoman of the Nurses and Midwives Trade Union, “Whether €250 a month will stabilize nurse and midwife numbers remains to be seen, but we hope it at least buys us time so they do not leave completely and marks the first step toward further systemic changes.”
Slovakia currently lacks about 14,000 nurses, and hospitals are trying to attract staff through financial and other benefits. “Given the unfavorable age structure, especially among nurses, we currently need about 70 nurses and ten midwives in various specialties,” said Ružena Maťašeje, spokesperson for F. D. Roosevelt University Hospital in Banská Bystrica. The University Hospital L. Pasteur in Košice reported the greatest shortages among specialist nurses in anesthesiology and intensive care, as well as operating room nurses.
“If we had the opportunity to hire 100 nurses immediately, we would do so right away. We would take more nurses across all departments,” said Eva Kliská, spokesperson for University Hospital Bratislava. Union representatives stress that systemic measures are needed, including higher base salaries and better working conditions. “It’s not sustainable to rely on paid overtime indefinitely. No human being can physically work 40 to 60 hours of overtime every month,” Kavecká added.
The Ministry of Health says further measures are planned. “We see this contribution as a bridging measure until long-term, sustainable systemic stabilization tools are put in place,” the ministry’s spokesperson explained.
Source: STVR
