Ismaili: Pay hikes to meet health reform in Kosovo

Without rising wages for health workers, health reform will not be complete. So stated Health Minister Ismaili Bridge.

According to Ismaili, to have greater responsibility from health workers, then the best welfare for them should be created.

The head of the Health Ministry has made these statements after adopting the concept-document for classification of salaries in Kosovo.

“We need to create a better welfare for health workers and of course see a higher responsibility on their part so that we can provide all the services that our citizens need. But without salary increases even for the health sector, I consider that reform will not be complete”, Ismaili told Online Economy.

As to the issue of how much the percentage that Minister Ismaili will raise the salaries of workers in the sector he runs, he said he would find a sum that will be acceptable to all health workers.
However, according to Ismaili, they will first discuss the matter with unions and other groups involved in the process.

“... There is a great will to have reflection, that is, to change the wages of health workers, and especially certain categories that have been left out when wage hikes have been made earlier. I am optimistic that today we will be able to find a solution which will also be satisfactory for health workers”, he said.
Ismaili has also talked about delays in signing contracts for supplies with essential drugs.

He said the Ministry of Health has made an offer that includes over 300 different articles so that the supply of drugs is continuous, not just weeks away.

Although he said drug purchases do not depend solely on the ministry he runs, Ismaili said the jobs belonging to the Ministry of Health will be completed in a month so that citizens can be supplied with the necessary items as soon as possible.

The “Bleries do not depend solely on the Ministry of Health, purchases depend on other institutions. We'll end up on schedule. Under the law, there is a week until it is announced then there are eight days until the verdict is announced then the legal term for complaints. As for the health ministry, we will do everything within a month. As far as we're concerned, we're gonna finish all the work. As far as other institutions are concerned then we need to see what decisions they have to make”, Ismaili concluded.