Okypy staff will stage a 48-hour strike on November 10 and 11 over the failure to implement provisions of their collective agreement, which expired in 2025, including pay rises, and the deadlock in negotiations for its renewal.
The trade unions representing the workers have called on the State Health Services Organisation (Okypy) to meet its obligations and reach an agreement by November 10 to avert the strike. They warned that further industrial action could follow if no agreement is reached.
In a joint statement on Monday, the unions SEK, PEO, Deok, Pasyno and Pasyki said staff were dissatisfied with the lack of progress on annual pay rises and personnel structures.
They linked the latter issue directly to understaffing and its impact on the care provided to patients.
Dispute over salary scales and staffing
According to the unions, negotiations to renew the collective agreement for 2026–2027 have reached a deadlock because of disagreements over Okypy’s proposed implementation of salary scales from 2028 onwards.
The unions said they had submitted proposals and remained willing to negotiate. However, they argued that they could not commit to future arrangements while provisions agreed under the previous collective agreement remained unimplemented.
The workers are demanding the implementation of salary scales and personnel structures that have already been agreed upon. The unions said these measures would improve productivity, effectiveness and competitiveness within the organisation.
They also warned that employees were already leaving for jobs in other state sectors.
Around 1,600 workers affected
The collective agreement covers approximately 1,600 employees, including doctors, nurses, paramedics and technical, administrative and office staff.
The unions described the planned Okypy staff strike as a last resort after negotiations failed to produce an agreement.
They said workers would cooperate with the relevant services during emergencies and other life-threatening incidents throughout the two-day strike.
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