Slovenian medical doctors suspend strike for two months

Slovenian doctors suspended their strike for two months and resumed their routine work on Tuesday, after their trade union reached an agreement with the government on Monday night to reduce their workload.

The decision was made by the strike committee of FIDES, the Slovenian doctor's union, on Tuesday morning as they empowered their boss Konrad Kustrin to sign a strike deal with the government on Monday night, according to the Slovenian Press Agency (STA).

The agreement involves the implementation of workload standards and norms, set out by doctors in the 2008 Blue Book, which, among other things, would give them more time to treat each patient, Kustrin said, adding that the agreement had also been reached to reward doctors exceeding the standards.

The government also committed to submitting to parliament by December 1 amendments to the public sector pay system that would enable doctors to progress higher on the pay scale than they currently can.

Doctors across the country went on strike on November 8 by refusing to work overtime and sticking to the 40-hour work week. Data is not in yet how many surgeries or appointments had to be cancelled as a result.

If they failed to strike a deal with the government Monday, doctors were prepared to step up their strike Tuesday by sticking to the minimum duty of care prescribed by law in the event of a strike. Endit