Health care workers suing hospital for violating Labour Code

Some 130 health care workers from the Prague hospital Na Homolce are suing the hospital for violating the Labour Code. They claim that the work burden is such that they do not have time for lunch breaks and say the hospital does not reimburse them for the overtime they put in. The suit was filed mostly by nurses, but also by several doctors. According to the Labour Code hospital employees are entitled to at least a 30-minute break for food and rest after six hours of work, but many complain that work pressure does not allow this. In a related development many doctors have threatened to stop working overtime after an amendment was passed doubling their overtime hours.