Finance Ministry asked to take out pay rise plan from new model for medics' wages - Pavluts

RIGA - The Finance Ministry asked to take out the pay rise plan from the new model for medics' wages, said Health Minister Daniels Pavluts (Development/For) in an interview with commercial TV3 television today.

As reported, the government on Tuesday approved the ministry's informative report on new wage model for medics. Still, Arturs Silovs, the board chairman of the Latvian Association of Young Medics, voiced regrets that the most important part has been taken out from this model - on the goals in relation to wages and financing to medicine for the coming five years. Thus, there is no confidence that this model will be implemented in real life.

Pavluts said in an interview with TV3 that the Finance Ministry had asked to take out a detailed plan for medics' pay rise year by year as it does not wish to give such financially consuming promises. Pavluts said though that the report includes "the big promise that by 2027, EUR 335 million should be invested in medics' wages".

Asked about the impact of the planned strike by the Latvian Trade Union of Health and Social Care Employees (LVSADA), the minister said that he believes it will not be a broad strike because the trade union's demands are quite narrow, while other medics' organizations want to speak about the financing model in more detail and in a long term.

The minister said that the trade union's demands are not quite clear to them as the wages required by LVSADA are already being paid to medics starting from the beginning of this year.

LVSADA this week agreed on a repeated warning strike on September 27-28.