NPR–Czech Doctors Prepare To Abandon The Republic

Fed up with shockingly low pay and long hours, doctors in the Czech Republic are threatening to leave the country en masse.

More than a quarter of all Czech doctors have already signed a declaration stating their intention to emigrate to better-paying European countries if the Czech government does not substantively address their concerns by the end of this year.

But the cash-starved Czech government is ignoring the warnings so far, dismissing the threat as a gimmick and moving ahead with cost-cutting plans.

Read or listen to it all.

Posted in * Culture-Watch, * International News & Commentary, Czech Republic, Europe, Health & Medicine

8 comments on “NPR–Czech Doctors Prepare To Abandon The Republic

  1. Archer_of_the_Forest says:

    Sounds like its time to Unionize.

  2. Br. Michael says:

    Socialism at it’s finest. At some point you run out of other peoples money.

  3. AnglicanFirst says:

    AOTF (#1.) said,
    “Sounds like its time to Unionize.”

    Unionizing may meet the narrow personal needs of the unionized medical caregivers, but it would be terrible for those needing care.

    Remember the comedic comment from out of the 1960s,
    “Not my job.”? Or “I’m on a break.” Or “So what’s in it for me?”

  4. Clueless says:

    It is not permitted for physicians to unionize either in Czechoslovakia or in the US. It is considered illegal “restraint of trade and collusion”.

  5. AnglicanFirst says:

    Reply to (#4.)>

    Good! But if it could be done the ideololgically driven unionizers would be out there amplifying and creating grievances in order to form a a union.

  6. rorymccorkle says:

    #2 / #4: What year are you all living in? Czechloslovakia broke up over 15 years ago – the country being referred to here is the Czech Republic. In addition, the Czech Republic has a vibrant democracy since the Velvet Revolution, not socialism.

  7. Clueless says:

    As in the US, medicine is socialized in the Czech Republic. The government sets the rates (as with medicare/aid) and requires that hospitals see all comers. The physicians are left trying to make a living after paying their expenses. They are permitted to “unionize”, they are not permitted to strike or to even refuse to work collectively. They can retire or go elsewhere; (as they are doing).

  8. Br. Michael says:

    As 7 points out, socialism in Europe did not die with the collapse of Communism.