The Slovak government press department released a statement on December 12 saying that it is fulfilling the obligations stemming from a memorandum it signed with protesting doctors that led to their return to their state-run hospitals, the TASR newswire reported.
The Government Office stated that it considers the statement made by the doctors’ union, LOZ, indicating that Prime Minister Iveta Radičová has lost trustworthiness as inappropriate.
The Slovak cabinet endorsed a proposal on a set of legislative changes that had been submitted by parliament’s health-care committee earlier on December 12. However, the proposals do not include a third phase of salary increases for doctors or termination of the process of transforming the state-run hospitals into joint-stock companies that were issues in the negotiations and part of the agreed memorandum.
The Government Office also stated that all issues from the memorandum had been submitted to parliament.
"The fact that lawmakers rejected some of those items has nothing to do with the government. Therefore, it's not true that the prime minister or government didn't fulfil their obligations stemming from the Memorandum," the statement says.
"Representatives of LOZ must surely know that the passing the amendment in question and the introduction of the measures they demand is fully in the hands of the lawmakers. The government did its utmost to fulfil the Memorandum."
Source: TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
