Family physicians not to postpone their strike

RIGA - Despite a call for a postponement, Latvian family physicians will go ahead with their strike next week as planned, LETA was told at the Latvian Association of Family Physicians.

The strike will be joined by more than 600 family physicians. The Latvian Association of Family Physicians will hold a news conference on Friday to give a more detailed information.

The association said that strike committee had not been invited to the talks Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis (Greens/Farmers) held with medics’ organizations this afternoon and that it, therefore, could not comment on the negotiations.

“Other persons’ views on how the strike should be organized and held are not binding to the strike committee and the strikers,” the association said in a statement.

As reported, Kucinskis held unplanned talks with representatives of medics’ organizations this afternoon, but Sarmite Veide, the head of the Latvian Association of Family Physicians, was absent. The premier said Veide’s lawyer had told her “she was not obliged to turn up”.

Peteris Apinis, the leader of the Latvian Medical Association, said after a meeting with Kucinskis, said that the strike of Latvia’s health care employees, which is expected to begin next week, might be postponed until July 22 when Saeima is due to hold the second reading of the tax reform bill.

Liga Kozlovska, the leader of the Latvian Association of Rural Family Physicians, said that today the first high-level meeting was held at which solutions were sought to the health sector’s funding issues. Kozlovska said that the meeting was productive and raised hopes that these problems will be fixed.