Today, on November 28, the Sejm of Latvia held a picket for the second time this month. Doctors and parents continued to fight for their rights, the NRA portal writes.
According to journalists, a protest rally outside the parliament building gathered 500 people and passed without incident. The organizers, however, counted on a larger number of participants.
Medical workers came to the Sejm to express their dissatisfaction with the government’s refusal to comply with the law on increasing wages to industry workers by 20% from next year.
“Do the deputies not get sick?” Asks one of the many posters with slogans. “For deputies – a mandatory health check”, “For each deputy as a psychiatrist!” – others say.
Representatives of the Medical Trade Union continued to demand the resignation of the country’s health minister, Ilze Winkele. The minister did not go out to picket.
It should be noted that in 2020, 1.92 million people in Latvia will account for 1.2 billion euros of “medical services”, or 636.8 euros per inhabitant per year. This is two times less than in neighboring Estonia and more than three times less than in Slovakia, where this figure is 2173 euros.
This is not the first time that Latvian doctors have been carrying out such an action, trying to defend their rights. This action was organized by the Latvian Society of Physicians, the Latvian Association of Young Doctors, the Latvian Association of Nurses and the Trade Union of Health and Social Workers. The Association of Medical and Social Workers’ Unions of Latvia also announced support for the protests.