By: Vida Kocjan
Golob’s coalition has politically interfered with doctors’ strike rights and adopted unilateral measures, which are not the solution for public healthcare. Over the past year, doctors have achieved significant progress, but many challenges still lie ahead. Systemic issues remain unresolved, and Robert Golob continues to mislead the public.
On January 15th, it marked one year since the start of the general doctors’ strike, which has exposed the alarming state of Slovenia’s public healthcare system. The crisis has intensified, especially under the current government coalition (Gibanje Svoboda, SD, and Levica). Golob’s administration is effectively blocking the strike by politically interfering with doctors’ and dentists’ rights to protest. They are also changing the rules – not just for doctors but for patients and the wider public as well. Despite this, the strike remains a symbol of the fight for doctors’ rights and a dignified public healthcare system. Over the past twelve months, the Trade Union of Doctors and Dentists (Fides) has achieved significant progress, but many challenges remain, as systemic issues are still unresolved.
Why did the strike begin?
The strike was triggered by two agreements that Robert Golob’s government signed but failed to implement. A year ago, the medical community was practically forced into industrial action. The union had demanded the signing of two annexes to the collective agreement for doctors and dentists, which would establish a clear career path for doctors and eliminate wage disparities by increasing salaries for senior physicians.
As the reason for the strike, they highlighted two agreements with the government. The first agreement, signed in October 2022, committed the government to creating a separate wage system for healthcare by April 1st, 2023. The second agreement was signed in January 2023. Both agreements, which were not honoured, also guaranteed doctors the right to a paid strike.
The strike escalated in March last year when doctors began withdrawing their consent for overtime work. The exact number of doctors who withdrew their consent is unknown, though some later re-signed agreements in certain hospitals. However, Fides warned that many doctors would not sign such agreements even after the strike ends.
Progress and key issues
Despite obstacles and government intervention, Fides claims that over the past year, the union has made important advances, such as implementing a career path for doctors, correcting long-standing wage injustices, and addressing promotion issues for young specialists. However, key challenges remain unresolved, particularly how to attract, retain, and motivate healthcare professionals in public institutions. The new wage system, which was promised as a reform, does not solve the fundamental problems – it merely makes minor adjustments to a flawed, uniform pay scale. Without a proper methodology, it introduces new inconsistencies, and the wage structure lacks content and the promised flexibility. These issues require continued union oversight and negotiations. Fides also highlights ongoing problems such as staff shortages, deteriorating working conditions, and legal uncertainties, which impact both medical professionals and patients.
The year-long strike has demonstrated the medical community’s unity in demanding better conditions and respect for both healthcare professionals and patient rights.
Doctors and dentists remain committed to finding solutions that will ensure a high-quality, accessible, and fair public healthcare system. “After years of systematically neglecting problems in healthcare, solutions can only be reached through constructive dialogue,” they emphasise.
Negotiations continue, Golob misleads
This is now the longest doctors’ strike in Slovenia’s history. Recently, Prime Minister Robert Golob claimed that his government had “fixed” healthcare and “destroyed” Fides, suggesting that the union is no longer relevant. However, the facts tell a different story, revealing either Golob’s ignorance of the situation or his deliberate deception of the public.
Fides has stated that negotiations with the government’s bargaining team have remained constructive. Discussions continue on unresolved strike demands and other pressing issues.
At the Ministry of Health, they also told STA that the government’s negotiating team is striving and aiming to conclude the negotiations as soon as possible with an agreement resolving the strike demands. They added that the government has already fulfilled most of Fides’ demands within the framework of central negotiations.
To tell the truth, however, the current government continues to restrict doctors and patients with constant changes in legislation and regulations. First, the government expanded the list of services that doctors must perform during the strike through a regulation, and later with an amendment to the Medical Services Act. Last summer, on August 1st, 2024, a new regulation on patient appointment scheduling and waiting list management was introduced. Among other things, this regulation extended the maximum waiting period for the “very urgent” category from 14 to 30 days. Despite this, waiting times for access to healthcare services continue to increase. When asked about this, the ministry responded that doctors and the doctors’ and dentists’ strike are not to blame for the situation, which suggests that Fides is right – the government is not addressing systemic issues in healthcare.
Last week, the government adopted an amendment to the Healthcare Services Act, which includes a proposed ban on public healthcare workers working for private providers. However, doctors and their associations emphasise that this will not solve the healthcare system’s problems. Fides has warned that the proposed amendment, currently under public consultation, is proof of a misguided approach to resolving issues.
Jelka Godec, head of the SDS parliamentary group, warns that the manoeuvre with the amendment to the Healthcare Services Act, which aims to separate public and private healthcare, is evidence of the government’s inability to address the real and pressing problems in the healthcare system. She criticised the government and the Ministry of Health for engaging in a “witch hunt”. Since only a negligible percentage of healthcare workers are employed in both the public and private sectors (about one percent), she argues that the proposed law will only strengthen the private healthcare sector and divide patients into those who can afford to pay for faster treatment and those who cannot.