Nurses keep negotiating for better conditions

The Nurses and Midwives Trade Union (OZSaPA) announced that nurses will return to hospitals if higher salaries are guaranteed in their employment contracts, than the increases introduced since the start of this year by new legislation. This has set the minimum monthly basic salary for nurses at €694 before taxes for the lowest qualified nurses and €823 for the top ones. According to Prime Minister Robert Fico nurses can hold talks with hospital directors on an individual basis, but only in accordance with valid legislation and collective agreements. On Monday, the union representatives should hold talks with hospitals to work out individual agreements for nurses who filed their resignations. The Slovak Association of Hospitals (ANS) considers it unfair that the nurses who return to their former workplaces can negotiate better salaries than those who have stayed.