Court overturns law on nurses’ pay

SLOVAKIA’S Constitutional Court issued a ruling on July 11 that overturns a law that had authorised an increase in the minimum salaries of nurses and midwives. The ruling came in response to a motion filed by the General Prosecutor’s Office seeking review of the law’s constitutionality, the SITA newswire reported.

SLOVAKIA’S Constitutional Court issued a ruling on July 11 that overturns a law that had authorised an increase in the minimum salaries of nurses and midwives. The ruling came in response to a motion filed by the General Prosecutor’s Office seeking review of the law’s constitutionality, the SITA newswire reported.

The request to the prosecutor’s office was initiated by the Slovak Medical Chamber, which had been disputing the constitutionality of the law. The prosecutor’s office argued before the court that the law was unconstitutional because it covered only certain health-care workers, nurses and midwives, and that there was a lack of authorised funds available to pay the higher minimum salaries, SITA wrote.

The law ordered the payment of higher minimum salaries to nurses and midwives effective April 1, 2012, but some hospitals and private doctors avoided complying with the law by cutting the working hours of nurses or reclassifying them to lower-paid positions.

The Slovak Chamber of Nurses and Midwives has contacted international organisations requesting assistance and the chamber’s president, Mária Lévyová, said the chamber is ready to file a motion with the General Prosecutor’s Office as well, SITA reported.

“I am asking myself whether we shouldn’t have taken harsher steps,” she stated, as quoted by SITA.

Top stories

Slovakia marks 20 years since joining NATO.

Slovakia marks 20 years in the Alliance.


Daniel Hoťka and 1 more
Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad