PM nixes pay hike for traumatologists on short term

Addressing a professional forum in Budapest on Tuesday, Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány stated that traumatologists could not have the pay hike they were demanding, "because we don't have the money." Last Wednesday, the Hungarian Traumatologists' Society voted to work to rule and refuse all extra overtime as of October 1 unless their current Ft 600-Ft 800 per hour (€ 2.20-2.90) salaries are increased to Ft 2,500-Ft 3,000 per hour (€ 9.10-10.90). Gyurcsány said he did not doubt the need for the raise, noting only that they don't have the resources. "The only way to get past this phase is to make the country much richer, and for that we need to make order," he said. At the same time, Gyurcsány pointed out that legislation that would revamp salaries in the medical profession would be drawn up by the end of the year. Gyurcsány noted that transforming the healthcare system would take a very difficult year-and-a-half to two years, during which he hoped that the institutions would continue to operate but could not guarantee that there would be no obstacles. The Prime Minister nixes pay hike for traumatologists on short term "for once, let's not sacrifice the transformation of a system that is obviously working poorly just to sidestep some very short-term conflicts," he said. (MTI)