The doctors' and nurses' unions will begin a strike at 7am on September 18 and will remain on strike until their demands have been met, the nurses' union said in a statement on Wednesday.
The unions had announced a strike after talks with the government on a new collective agreement failed on August 26.
The head of the doctors' union, Ivica Babic, said that 70 per cent of the medical staff, or 46,000 doctors and nurses throughout the country, would be on strike. He said that during the strike the hospitals would be operating as on Sundays and that the unions would do their best to ensure that citizens and patients were affected by the strike as little as possible.
The unions demand the signing of a new collective agreement that would meet their demands for any work longer than 40 hours a week to be treated as overtime and paid 50 per cent more. They had refused to sign an interim agreement saying that its treatment of on-call hours and overtime was against the law and European standards.
Health Minister Rajko Ostojic said that his ministry would take all the necessary measures to ensure maximum care for patients and citizens during the strike. He added that there was no reason for the strike as his ministry was open to negotiations, but noted that he respects the legitimate right of the unions to strike action.
A third union would not join the doctors' and nurses' unions in the strike, saying it would seek the resumption of collective bargaining.
