Nurses deliver letter to Fico, checked by police

Nurse and midwives union head Monika Kavecká, along with Nurses and Midwives Chamber president Iveta Lazorová and other nurses, on Tuesday personally delivered to the Government Office a letter for Prime Minister Robert Fico, in which they call upon Fico to address the mass resignations of nurses. The letter's submitters were checked by two police patrols, which supervised them until the nurses vacated the premises. They warn that the real situation bears little resemblance to the sunny picture repeatedly painted by Health Minister Viliam Čislák. "Once again, we call upon you not to wait for February 1, 2016, when hundreds of nurses will leave Slovak hospitals, but use the weight of your office to intervene now and initiate a meeting with representatives of nurses and midwives ... Despite our interest in talks, since December 1, 2015, the minister has failed to meet us and showed no willingness to arrive at an agreement", reads the letter. Premier Fico replied that nurses are not being ignored and that the Health Ministry is taking an active approach to negotiations. "Further talks are pending", Fico said at a press conference on Tuesday. The Prime Minister respects the nurses' right to a different opinion or "some form of protest", although he wouldn't have "left the patients" if he'd been in their shoes. Fico pointed that additional €55 million has been earmarked for health workers' pay hikes - although he understands that everyone would like to see more on their payslips.