Estonian health-care unions seek conciliator after wage talks break down

Collective-agreement talks for Estonia’s health-care sector concluded without a deal, leading five professional unions to petition the national conciliator. The appeal, signed by the Nurses Union, Health-Care Workers' Professional Union, Doctors' Union, Clinical Psychologists' and Clinical Speech Therapists' Professional Union, and the Physiotherapists' Union, seeks a minimum-wage increase that outpaces the country’s average over the next two years.

Unions attribute the failure to Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller and the Health Insurance Fund’s plan to use 2027 resources to balance the fund rather than fund wage hikes. Nurses Union president Kätlin Lillemaa highlighted that many workers rely on overtime and night shifts to approach average earnings, while a national shortage of doctors and nurses persists. The unions argue that inadequate wages risk further staff attrition and stress the minister’s essential role in negotiations. The Health Insurance Fund’s forecast shows no extra money for wage raises next year.