Content type: News Euractiv is part of the Trust Project
After the Slovak parliament passed a law forcing doctors to work under threat of up to a year in prison, striking health workers and the opposition asked President Peter Pellegrini to veto the bill.
The controversial bill, passed by parliament on Wednesday night, was introduced in response to the mass strike by up to 3,300 doctors who resigned in protest at deteriorating conditions in the health sector. Seventy opposition MPs and two from the ruling Hlas-SD(NI) party voted against the bill.
The doctors have agreed to withdraw their resignations if the government meets their demands, but negotiations remain deadlocked, and time is running out as the resignations could take effect in January 2025.
"Forcing individuals to work when they have freely chosen to resign crosses the boundaries of democracy and undermines democratic principles," the doctors' union (LOZ) said in a letter sent to the president on Thursday.
“The adoption of this amendment is not capable of effectively solving the problems of the Slovak healthcare system, it is just escalating the conflict," they added.
They also expressed their wish to meet the president in person to outline their concerns about the bill and propose alternative solutions that they believe could help improve the healthcare sector.
The Slovak Medical Chamber has also criticised the bill, describing it as an unfortunate measure that will exacerbate an already tense...
In a combative interview with U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, right-wing firebrand Tucker Carlson made a host of contentious and often demonstrably false claims that quickly went viral on...