The 50 Best-paid Public Sector Employees Include 45 Doctors

The FIDES doctors’ union is demanding the abolition of the earnings cap

These are extreme examples and represent just one side of the story; the other is substantially different. In some cases, according to NIO, the wages are only one-tenth as high. Foto: BoBo

In the wake of the recent demand by the FIDES doctors’ union for higher wages and the fact that the strike committee is not ruling out a strike this fall, we took a closer look at the actual wages of Slovenian doctors.

The data, which we gathered from the NIO portal, reveal record-breaking wages for some doctors on one hand, but considerably lower wages for many of their colleagues on the other. One of FIDES’s demands is the abolition of the upper ceiling for how much doctors can be paid – an earnings cap. The labor union is basing its demand on the following question: Why should only politicians and government officials be eligible for the highest pay grades?

When this demand is considered in the context of the highest wages in the public sector, the first reaction is one of bewilderment. On the lists for April, May, and October, the 50 highest-paid public sector employees included no fewer than 50 doctors. Furthermore, in the past six months, only five public sector employees who were not doctors made it on the top-50 list.

The very top of the list consists almost entirely of doctors, employees of the hospitals in Ptuj, Brežice, Ljubljana, and again in Ptuj and Brežice -- with monthly salaries of 12,000 euros or more.

One frequently heard explanation for the high wages is the fact that current doctors are overworked because of an acute shortage of doctors. Some work more than 350 hours a month, and are on call as many as 50 times a month. Serious questions about the quality of their work are being raised. However, it’s also undeniable that all of the hours worked must be paid.

Wages one-tenth as high
These are extreme examples and represent just one side of the story; the other is substantially different. In some cases, according to NIO, the wages are only one-tenth as high. A resident receives approximately 1960 euros gross a month, including all overtime and on-call duties. A specialist with the highest titles who also performs surgeries receives 5300 euros gross a month, also including all additional pay.

Finally, a comparison of doctors’ and politicians’ wages: According to NIO data, only doctors in the highest pay grade have surpassed ministers, while doctors in the remaining 30 pay grades have not. Only doctors in the five highest pay grades are paid more than Members of Parliament.

Nika Benedik, Radio Slovenija; Translated by J.B.