On November 10 and 11, the employees of the State Health Services Organization are going on a 48-hour strike, after the deadlock that has arisen in the negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement.
The decision was taken unanimously during the assemblies of the workers, who had been called by the six trade unions (SEK, PEO, PASYDY, PASYKI, PASYNO, DEOK), to authorize their leaderships to take strike measures, if there was no progress in the negotiations with the Organization.
At the center of the controversy are the salary scales, the staff structures and the pending issues from the previous collective agreement.
In fact, according to information from Filenews, one of the issues that causes the strong reaction of the unions is OKYPY's demand to include the evaluation of employees in the process concerning the salary scales.
This issue is a "red line" for the trade unions, which do not accept it as a condition for the start or continuation of negotiations.
It is recalled that the link between the evaluation and the salary advancement had been a point of intense controversy during the process of signing the previous collective agreement, leading the workers to take strike measures at the time.
"The Organization is forcing us to strike"
The president of the Nurses Branch of PASYDY, Prodromos Argyridis, attributes responsibility to OKYPY for the turn the negotiations have taken.
"In fact, the Organization with its attitude is forcing us to strike," he told Filenews, arguing that the unions have already submitted a comprehensive proposal aimed at reaching an agreement.
"The unions have sent OKYPY a comprehensive proposal without preconditions and pre-commitments with the aim of open dialogue. Instead, the Organization responded to us by setting conditions for the start of the dialogue, something that the unions cannot accept," he said.
The trade unions argue that their effort is focused on renewing the collective agreement for the years 2026–2027, without making advance commitments to arrangements for a later period.
For their part, they consider that the Organization's insistence on such conditions prevents the effective continuation of the dialogue.
Pending issues from the previous contract
In their joint statement, the six trade unions state that the decision to strike is the result of the strong dissatisfaction of the workers for the non-compliance with the provisions of the 2023-2025 collective agreement.
Particular reference is made to the annual salary increases and the formation of personnel structures, issues which, according to the unions, are still pending.
The trade unions link the formation of staff structures to the treatment of understaffing in public hospitals, arguing that the resolution of pending issues will contribute to the proper functioning of health services.
As they point out, the employees demand the implementation of salary scales and agreed structures, in order to ensure their salary and professional advancement.
At the same time, they argue that the current situation affects OKYPY's ability to retain staff, as employees leave or choose to be employed in the State and other public law organizations.
According to the announcement of the unions, the impasse in the negotiations for the 2026-2027 collective agreement is due to OKYPY's insistence on requesting a commitment in advance for the methodology for the implementation of the salary scales from 2028.
About 1.600 employees are affected
The collective agreement concerns about 1,600 employees who have been hired by OKYPY.
These include doctors, nurses, paramedical, technical, administrative and secretarial staff.
The organizations characterize the strike as a last resort and recognize that the mobilization will cause disruption to patients.
They assure, however, that they will work with the relevant services to ensure that urgent and life-threatening incidents are dealt with, in accordance with the procedures in force.
Despite the announcement of the 48-hour strike, the unions leave open the possibility of preventing it, if there is a substantial response from OKYPY.
Their goal, as they say, is to reach an agreement before November 10.
