Government’s plan to revamp salary scales angers doctors

Members of the Czech doctors’ trade unions threatened on Thursday to resign en masse over the government’s plan to shake up salary scales. The Czech Labour and Social Affairs Ministry has proposed to introduce a single salary scale which would see the wages of doctors at the start of their career slashed by 14 percent, while those of experienced ones by up to 40 percent. The head of the doctors’ trade union, Martin Engel, said the only adequate response would be for doctors to resign en masse. Prime Minister Petr Nečas said the government would come back to the issue, which is part of the cabinet’s cost-cutting drive.