site.btaMedical Students and Resident Doctors Protest Again Demanding Decent Pay and Better Working Conditions

Medical students and resident doctors protested once again on Monday in front of the Health Ministry in Sofia, calling for decent pay and better working conditions. The demonstration was organized by the civic group "Future in Bulgaria".

"We are protesting again because we do not believe that the promises made to us so far will be fulfilled. Society has forgotten our demands, and politicians themselves rejected the three draft bills they had prepared," Dr Daniel Kiprov and medical student Vasilena Dimitrova told BTA. They expressed concern that the EUR 260 million planned in the National Health Insurance Fund budget would either "disappear" or be used to benefit specific individuals.

Earlier, Health Committee Chair Kostadin Angelov said that EUR 30 million of the EUR 260 million are allocated for secondary budget spending units under the Health Ministry, and the remainder is intended for raising the wages of all staff in state, regional and municipal hospitals.

Dimitrova said that protesters demand broader healthcare reform, and that their other requests, not only higher pay, must be addressed: increased pay for night shifts, remuneration for additional qualifications, and transparency in the assignment of medical specializations.

Chanting "Resignation and Change", "Join Us, We Are Doing This for You" and "Future in Bulgaria", protesters marched from the Health Ministry to Eagles' Bridge in downtown Sofia. The demonstration took place under the slogan “You Will Not Fool Us”. MPs from Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria attended the protest.

The protest briefly blocked traffic at the Eagles' Bridge intersection.