LJUBLJANA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- The Constitutional Court of Slovenia on Monday ruled against the pay ceiling rise for doctors and dentists proposed by the government and confirmed by Parliament late last year.
In February, Parliament adopted a package of measures to limit the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included a decree that would have increased the wages of doctors and dentists by about 25 percent, arguing that they were overworked and underpaid.
However, trade unions representing other professions challenged the decree with the Constitutional Court, arguing that wages cannot be increased for one segment of the public sector only.
In 2020 and 2021, when the country was struggling with the pandemic, the government agreed to hefty temporary wage hikes for doctors and certain other public sector employees. However, most temporary increases expired with the improvement in the pandemic situation. The unions representing the country's doctors and other public sector employees have since then loudly demanded a sweeping reform of the wage system.
Slovenia will hold general elections on April 24, and the next government will have to find a balance between higher wages and the country's international competitiveness. Possible wage hikes could trigger further inflation, which in February reached 6.9 percent, its highest year-on-year level since July 2008. ■
