Strike in the Romanian healtchare system
Thousands of doctors, nurses and other staff at nearly 500 hospitals across Romania are on an indefinite general strike, protesting the bill on public sector pay
Sorin Iordan, 29.07.2026, 14:00
The general strike in the Romanian healthcare system, which began on Tuesday, is continuing after negotiations between the Sanitas Federation and the Ministry of Health ended without an agreement. Thousands of doctors, nurses and other staff at nearly 500 hospitals across the country are staging an indefinite protest against the draft bill on a unified pay scale for the entire public sector. The bill is still under debate, and access to European funds totaling around 800 million euros depends on its adoption.
Those working in the healthcare sector are unhappy with this proposal, which they say will reduce their incomes. The president of the Sanitas Federation, Iulian Pope, has stated that, following discussions with representatives of the relevant ministry, trade unionists have not received any assurances regarding the resolution of their demands concerning the unfreezing of posts, hospital funding and the new pay law.
Iulian Pope: ‘A great many issues are still under review. We believe that there are still plenty of scenarios that could lead to a loss of income for our colleagues, and quite a few who will be on those transitional pay scales. At the moment, there is no guarantee that these issues can be resolved.’
The trade union leader acknowledged that the caretaker government is unable to make decisions due to its limited powers, and issued a fresh appeal to the political class to set aside their pride and reach a compromise, so that a fully-fledged government – with which it would be possible to negotiate and resolve the problems in the healthcare system – can be formed as quickly as possible.
One of the concerns raised by healthcare staff – relating to recruitment within the system – was brought to the attention of the Cabinet on Tuesday evening. Ministers convened an extraordinary meeting and approved a memorandum to unfreeze more than 6,850 posts in the health sector, the majority of which are for nurses, support staff and doctors.
Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan stated that the strike by staff in the sector had been fueled by misinformation regarding the new pay law and reassured employees that no salaries would be cut. He did, however, point out that the way hospitals are funded would be changed.
Ilie Bolojan: “In the coming years, hospitals should be run on the basis of the services provided to patients, and every case that is treated should generate a sum used to cover hospital staff salaries and all other expenses. Hospitals that meet the needs of citizens in the areas where they operate will have cases, will have patients, and everything will run smoothly; but hospitals that currently rely solely on these transfers will have to rethink their services, reorganize their departments, staffing levels and the medical specialties they provide.”
Bolojan also said that he had received requests to unfreeze 26,000 posts in public hospitals. He specified that approximately 2,000 of the unfrozen posts had been transferred to hospitals in county capitals, to facilities in university centers and to those providing high-quality services where there’s pressure due to staff shortages. Trade unions in the Romanian healthcare system estimate that the staff shortfall currently stands at around 30,000 employees. (MI)
