THE DOCTORS' Trade Union (LOZ) went on strike alert on May 1.
The union declared the strike alert after Prime Minister Robert Fico did not reply to a letter they sent on April 19, in which the union asked for a meeting to discuss their requirements.
The LOZ is calling for higher wages, a halt to the transformation of medical institutions into for-profit companies and an increase to the health insurance premiums the state pays for children, pensioners and other patients whose health insurance is covered by the state.
The union is also requesting salary increases of about 30 percent.
"We are also requesting that the wages of workers in other hospitals be increased to the same level as the wages paid in faculty hospitals," Marian Kollár of the LOZ told the Sme daily.
The Slovak Trade Union of Healthcare and Social Services has not joined the strike alert because it is currently negotiating a collective agreement.
