Suche
Mein Konto
Alarm mood in Styria: Doctors warn of health crisis!
Collective bargaining in Styria fails; Health care at risk. Call for a round table for a solution.
Alarm mood in Styria: Doctors warn of health crisis!
The Austrian healthcare system is facing major challenges: collective bargaining negotiations between the Styrian doctors' representation and the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) have failed. Johannes Steinhart, President of the Austrian Medical Association, described this as an alarming signal. Without a substantial offer from the ÖGK and with a tense financial situation, there is a risk of unsustainable conditions in the health system, which could particularly hit the eastern region of Austria hard. “If the ÖGK runs out of money or is not prepared to spend it, then this could deal a serious blow to the social and solidarity-based health system, which has been starved by politics for years,” warned Steinhart. These developments also affect the contract negotiations in Vienna, Burgenland, Lower Austria and Carinthia.
Growing dissatisfaction among the civil service
In the meantime, important elections are underway in the public sector, in which around 250,000 employees are electing new staff representatives. However, the background to these elections is overshadowed by a current salary dispute. While the Christian Trade Union Group (FCG) is fighting for its majority, the entire civil service is behind the demands of the unions, who are demanding a salary increase. Despite the impending wage negotiations, only one round of negotiations has taken place so far. A large-scale demonstration with around 30,000 participants in Vienna is planned for Tuesday - a sign that the civil service has clear demands. The statutory inflation rate of 3.8 percent plays a central role in the upcoming salary adjustment.
The wage negotiations come at a critical time, particularly given the difficult financial situation and ongoing coalition negotiations. An impending strike could put the issue further on the agenda if the government does not quickly come to an acceptable solution. How COURIER reports, the union is planning a comprehensive mobilization of employees to highlight the close negotiations and the need for a wage increase. The current developments in the health sector and the unclear future of the public service are examples of the challenges that Austria will have to overcome in the future.