Deputies from different political parties propose differentiated approaches to guaranteeing minimum labor remuneration in the healthcare sector. The leading initiative comes from the ruling parties, who link payment to the current collective labor agreement in the branch.
The "Future in Bulgaria" initiative, representing protesting doctors, categorically objects to the proposed mechanism. Their main arguments are related to the fact that many hospital facilities have not achieved minimum payment standards, regardless of signed collective agreements.
The alternative draft laws present different financial parameters. The draft by "We Continue the Change" and "Democratic Bulgaria" provides for the starting salary for a doctor without specialization to be 150 percent of the average wage for the country. For healthcare specialists, 125 percent of the average remuneration is proposed.
The political formation "Revival" proposes linking payment to the average wage, while "Grandeur" launches specific amounts - 6000 leva for doctors and 4000 leva for medical specialists.
In the draft law of the ruling parties, a sanction of 15 thousand leva is set for hospital directors who do not comply with the requirements for minimum wages. The protesting medics propose a more drastic measure - termination of the contract with the National Health Insurance Fund for systemic violations.
A key requirement of young medical specialists is guaranteeing an initial base salary that significantly exceeds average levels. They insist on a mechanism that would actually improve financial conditions in the sector and stop the mass migration of medical personnel.
The upcoming meeting of the health committee is expected to be extremely controversial, with different political platforms presenting their visions for the future of remuneration in healthcare.
The ultimate goal of all proposals is to achieve fairer pay that will retain qualified medical specialists in Bulgarian hospitals and improve the quality of medical service.