How to piss off Doctors and Medical Staff
Isn't it ludicrous to realise that I, an English teacher, receive 80% more in my monthly wage than Polish doctors. People who are on the frontline of maintaining the health of 38 million people in this country have long been neglected by the State and have consequently fled to other countries or the private sector for jobs - leaving the public sector in shatters.
Medical staff at one third of the nationwide public hospitals have been on a go slow strike for the past two weeks. Young doctors deployed a catchy banner some months back in protest at long working hours and crap pay: 'Mowimy po angielsku' or 'We speak English' - a direct demonstration to the Polish state and Polish society that if their postulates continued to be ignored then they would be on the first Ryanair flight to London, Dublin or Chicago. Ryanair suck by the way.
Thankfully, according to opinion polls, the doctors and other medical staff have large support from the public as to their demands for pay increases - though most beleive it should beno more than 5,000 zl monthly (€1,300). Currently their wages stand at about 2,000 zl. monthly (€600). Pretty pathetic when you think about the fact that the average industrial wage is now at 2,800 (€800).
Anyhow, they've certainly got my support - that is, to get 5,000 zl. a month. There demand for 7,000 is a bit steep I think. I had one of my students tell me last week that for a 26 hour week on her teaching practice she receives 800 zl. monthly - 800 zl., for fuck's sake. That's €200 a month or a little of quarter the average monthly wage. No wonder people are getting the fuck outta here, and despite the fact that unemployment rate now stands at around 14%, employers cannot find the people they need because - yes you guessed it, they've emigrated. Something just ain't right in this equation.
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Damo,
when i worked in a village primary school i received 427zł net including a 10% village allowance. This was for a 1/2 etat contract of 9 lessons a weeks (3X3 to years 4-6). For this i was expected to also attend 3plus hour staff meetings and the usual stuff. The justificatrion for all this? That i was unqualified as regards the polish teaching system. - Use and abuse is part and parcel of the state system i'm afraid.
My mother-in-law who is a doctor with over 35 years experience , two specialisations and the works was recently offered 13zł per hour to do the night shift at her hospital. Understandably she refused. Her boss then pulled the cheap trick of explaining that soon the butget will be released for a substantial upgrade in pay, but only those doing the job will be looked at favourably!!! Despite her years of experience telling her not to listen to such blackmail, she never the less was made to feel that she may miss out on something.
All this in the shadow of PiS wanting to spend millions researching the 700,000 strong list of 'commie' they wanted to gather.
It is sickening and saddening stuff alright how teachers and doctors get treated here. Ok, there is economic growth at 6/7% and yes we understand that the budget is a pretty stagnant amount of money which the gvt. does not feel it can budge on, but as you correctly pointed out they've got there priorities all wrong. Totally and utterly haywire!
I say withdraw the troops from Afghanistan and Iraq and use the finances saved to assist the medical and educational funding. I say stop paying obscene amounts of money for F-16's which are designed to take people's lives and give a fair wage to people who on a daily basis try to save people's lives and educate the next generation.
But then again, who gives a fiddlers what a Paddy - who wouldn't vote PiS, PO or SLD - living in Poland has to say.
I presume you were teaching English? How did you find the experience compared to the private teaching sector? Is your Polish up to scratch that you could sit in on a 3 hr. staff meeting and catch their drift? And if yes, then please give me some of your magical Polish learning potion;))