Romanian healthcare workers to strike over government policies

The SANITAS Federation has officially declared a labor dispute and announced a strike to commence at the end of July, protesting government economic and social policies they deem unfair to healthcare personnel. The union estimates that approximately 50,000 healthcare employees will join the strike.

During the strike, only critical services, including emergency rooms (UPU) and intensive care units (ICU), will be maintained. This means that about 66% of hospital activities will be interrupted, while 33% will continue to operate, focusing on critical sections such as nephrology, dialysis, gastroenterology, and cardiology units with ICUs. Non-urgent procedures, like scheduled surgeries, will be postponed.

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The Federation has officially announced the initiation of the labor dispute, so the warning strike is scheduled for the 22nd, and for the 28th the general strike, and all involved entities, including the line ministries and the government, have already been informed. Yesterday and the day before yesterday, all employers under the collective labor agreement were also notified, in order to cover all legal aspects. We expect to be challenged in court, which is why we must proceed with great caution until the procedures are finalized.

The union's demands center on restoring wage rights, reversing the reduction of bonuses, and re-establishing meaningful dialogue with the government. SANITAS warns that the healthcare system risks significant depopulation within five years if the proposed salary law is enacted in its current form.

A warning strike is scheduled for July 20, followed by a general strike beginning July 28 across all healthcare facilities nationwide. This decision follows failed discussions with relevant ministries, with union leaders accusing authorities of a lack of real social dialogue and communication blockage. Vice-president of SANITAS, Răzvan Gae, stated that unions anticipate legal challenges and are proceeding with caution. He assured that patient health would not be jeopardized, but non-emergency interventions would be temporarily halted.

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To ensure the continuity of medical services, approximately 30% of the staff will remain at work to guarantee activities that endanger patients' lives, such as the ambulance, UPU, intensive care, and operating rooms, and patients' health will not be jeopardized in any way, only interventions that do not involve urgency, such as scheduled operations, will be temporarily delayed, so that, in principle, 66% of hospital activity will be interrupted, and 33% will continue to function, especially in critical departments of nephrology, dialysis, gastroenterology, and cardiology, which have intensive care compartments. Also, the warning strike will mean an interruption of activity of a maximum of two hours, and if nothing is resolved between July 20 and 28, we will enter a complete general strike.