Delayed benefits push health workers towards strike

Workers in the health sector are again on the verge of striking in the wake of an announcement made by Prime Minister Donald Tusk yesterday. Tusk said that regulations to curb working hours will no longer come into force on January 1, 2008, but rather a year later. The new regulations state that doctors employed in hospitals cannot work more than 48 hours a week, and should be compensated for the extra hours. However, there are no funds to finance these regulations. "We estimate that the costs of the new regulations will be almost zł.700 million. The funds were to come from the Labor Fund, however, the bill on the Fund has not been passed by the Sejm. The draft is still in the hands of the commission," said Bolesław Piecha, former deputy Health Minister. (Dziennik, p. 1; Gazeta Wyborcza, p. 4; Rzeczpospolita, p. A8) A.K.