Minister welcomes signs of worker peace at state hospitals

The final collective labour agreement for public hospital employees will be formulated at the end of January to put an end to an ongoing spat between unions and state health services organisation (Okypy), Health Minister Popi Kanari announced on Wednesday.

The minister was speaking following a meeting chaired by her at the health ministry with Okypy and trade unions. The meeting was attended by the six trade unions representing workers at state hospitals and Okypy in the presence of the president, the executive director and other officials from the organisation

“We believe that there was an acceptable framework for discussing collective agreements until 2025,” Kanari said.

She then revealed plans to form a small committee comprising all the represented unions to deliberate on the final framework of public contracts until 2025. This committee will convene in the new year independently of the health ministry, with Okypy, to identify common ground.

The minister added that “in the next meeting, which will be in a plenary session, they will come with the final contract, in which we will decide what it will be until 2025.”

She mentioned that she believes there was a positive approach from all parties involved. “Indeed, there was this willingness to find common acceptable solutions. That was the message today that soon the unions and Okypy will discuss again the final formulation of public contracts, something that will be completed by January 20, and towards the end of January, we will meet to move towards the final contract,” she said.

Wednesday’s meeting was held after the six labour unions rejected Okypy’s latest financial proposal for collective agreements covering hospital workers.

The unions representing public health sector workers maintain their stance that Okypy must implement structured salary scales with defined grades and annual increases, without implying a transformation of employees into civil servants.

Meanwhile, the Okypy proposal concerns salary increases over two time periods, one is until 2025 and the second from 2026 onwards. It states that until 2025 a 1 per cent fixed increase will be given.

From 2026, a 1 per cent fixed increase is proposed.