Doctors Demand Recognition of Representativeness, Threaten to Refuse Overtime

The Croatian Medical Union (HLS) sent an open letter on Thursday to the Croatian Parliament and several ministries requesting the urgent initiation of the process for recognizing its representativeness, amending the law through urgent parliamentary procedure, and finding a legal model for the prompt inclusion of HLS in negotiations regarding the Collective Agreement for the healthcare and health insurance sector.

Otherwise, there is a real possibility that doctors will refuse to work overtime, which would inevitably lead to a complete collapse of the healthcare system, or a situation that would pose a threat to national security, warns HLS in a statement regarding the collective negotiations that began without representatives of doctors.

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“At a time when our doctors are leaving en masse abroad, and those who remain are working an enormous number of overtime hours just to keep the system afloat, HLS is still not a representative union, and negotiations for a new Collective Agreement for the healthcare and health insurance sector have begun without representatives of doctors,” they state in the open letter addressed to the Parliament and the ministries of health, administration, and labor and pension system.

According to the Law on Representativeness, the Independent Union of Health and Social Care of Croatia and the Croatian Professional Union of Nurses/Medical Technicians can participate in collective negotiations, but not HLS, as it does not have enough members.

HLS emphasizes that it is the only legitimate representative of Croatian doctors, therefore such a situation is unacceptable and urgent measures must be taken to recognize its representativeness.

The Croatian Medical Chamber also criticized the start of collective negotiations without the participation of legitimate representatives of doctors, stating that this is a severe form of discrimination against an important social group, which can cause harmful consequences for all Croatian citizens.