Doctors at Helios clinics in warning strike

Physicians strike at the private clinics of Helios GmbH

11.04.2011

On nationwide all Helios clinics has started today a warning strike of the doctors. The medical union has called for the three and a half hour strike „Marburger Bund“. The doctors are demanding an increase in their salaries „linear 5 percent“, as a spokesman for the medical union said.

The doctors of the private Helios clinics complain that they are waiting more than a year for a renewed collective agreement. „Now you are at the end of patience“. Before the start of today's fifth round of negotiations with Helios nationwide several hundred doctors have followed the call of the Marburger Bund and entered the warning strike. The strike started at 8.00 and ended at 11.30. During this time, patients were only treated in an emergency.

Doctors' union announced collective agreements
With the strike, the doctors want to increase the pressure on the management of the hospitals. So far, the employer showed „hardly a real willingness to unite“, so the Marburger Bund. Call for one „linear increase of five percent“. In addition, the remuneration of night work should be improved; so far Helios pays a surcharge of 1.28 euros per hour. For the nightly on-call service, the union demands the introduction of a surcharge of 25 percent of the hourly rate. Overtime and Saturday work should also be better paid in the future.

The medical union had already terminated the collective agreement at the end of March and sent corresponding claims to the clinics of Helios GmbH. After the negotiations had no result, were „Warning strikes have become inevitable“. An opinion from the hospitals is currently not available. Employees and civil servants are unionized in the Marburger Bund. (Sb)

Also read:
Warning strike at HELIOS Hospital
Billing fraud at the Schwerin Helios Clinic?

Image: Stephanie Hofschlaeger