Prague hospitals are expecting a wave of resignations from dissatisfied doctors.

Doctors in Prague hospitals are expected to start handing in their resignations on Monday in protest against low wages. The wave of mass resignations triggered by the trade union campaign “Thank You, We Are Leaving” has already affected other parts of the country and threatens to paralyze a number of state hospitals in Vysočina, Ostrava, Opava and Brno. A hospital in Vysočina reports that 500 doctors have handed in their resignations, which amounts to 80 percent of its staff. In Ostrava and Brno some hospitals may lose 60 to 70 percent of their staff. Of the 16,000 doctors working in state hospitals around the country more than 4,000 have threatened to walk out if they do not get a pay-rise as of next year. They are asking for a basic salary triple the average wage i.e. 70,000 crowns per month, which the health minister says he is unable to give them in view of the government’s austerity measures.

Author: Jan Richter