Selmani: Healthcare workers have been leaving Kosovo for years due to low salaries

The President of the Health Workers Union, Xhemajl Selmani, warns that there has been a noticeable outflow of workforce from Kosovo's healthcare sector for years and that visa liberalization has further facilitated this trend.

”Medical workers have been leaving Kosovo for years, and we have a deficit in terms of the medical workforce. I believe the government needs to address this issue,“ Selmani said for Kosovo Online.

Last week, a protest of healthcare workers was held in front of the Clinical University Center in Pristina.

They demanded the payment of market supplements and allowances for healthcare workers in the public healthcare system, as well as inclusion in the Salary Law, payment for work on weekends and holidays, risk pay, and payment for overtime hours.

Selmani claims that the key reason for the departure of workers from the healthcare sector lies precisely in low salaries and unresolved work issues.

“The salaries are insufficient to make ends meet. That's why we protested. Our demands are to increase salaries for all healthcare workers, from doctors and nurses to cleaners and technical staff,“ Selmani said.

According to data from the Medical Chamber, in just the first month of this year, 20 doctors requested the necessary documentation to continue working in one of the Western countries.

Selmani says that the problem of workforce outflow affects all categories of healthcare employees, with his colleagues mostly leaving for Germany, Switzerland, France, and Sweden.

“The government is not attentive to the problems of healthcare workers. It has rendered the union organization passive,“ Selmani concludes.