“The reality is that we have to look at our financial capabilities, and I believe that, as a compromise solution, we may manage to implement the pay rise somewhat earlier than on July 1. That range is between 15 and 20 percent. We are ready to negotiate on that and look for additional financing sources,” Skvernelis said on LRT Radio.
“I believe that, in any case, this is a dialogue. We are going to have one or another result,” he added.
The prime minister underlined that such an increase in salaries in 2018 would require an additional 120 million euros.
Skvernelis said he was planning to meet with representatives of the Lithuanian Medical Movement, a newly-established organization that has issued a petition demanding that health professionals’ salaries be increased by 30 percent next January and be raised by another 50 percent by 2020 so as to reach the EU average.
Health Minister Aurelijus Veryga and the Lithuanian Doctors’ Union have reached a preliminary agreement on a less ambitious wage increase starting next May, but this measure is yet to be approved by the Finance Ministry.
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