French health staff to get pay rise, says PM

FRANCE has pledged to give health workers “significant” pay increases as part of a major overhaul of the country’s lauded but creaking hospital system in response to the coronavirus crisis.

The government promise came after the epidemic exposed weaknesses in one of the world’s most generously funded national health systems, which weathered the outbreak but was notably less prepared than Germany.

“I can say without any ambiguity, the increase will be significant,” Edouard Philippe, the prime minister, announced in a speech to launch marathon consultations with doctors and nurses that are expected to last until July.

French hospitals had already been racked by various strike protests over pay and staff shortages in recent months.

In February, some 1,300 doctors symbolically “resigned” from their administrative duties to put pressure on the government over budgetary constraints and rising red tape.

That followed a strike by emergency doctors held to denounce conditions in accident and emergency departments, with thousands marching in protest in November 2019.

Health professionals largely put their demands on hold during the Covid-19 crisis, where they were hailed as heroes and received nightly rounds of applause from the general public. However, President Emmanuel

Macron was taken to task by nurses when he visited a hospital this month; one told him “we don’t believe in you any more” over pledges to answer their grievances, leading him to confess his previous stab at health reform had come “10 years too late”.

At 11.2 per cent, France’s health expenditure as a share of GDP is only beaten by the US, Sweden and Germany, with the UK on 9.8 per cent, according to the latest figures compiled by the OECD group of developed nations.

Yet starting pay for a nurse, for example, stands at €1,500 (£1,340) per month, one of the group’s lowest levels.

The government has previously promised investment in response to protests, but Mr Philippe said yesterday that the new measures would be “massive”, adding: “The key word here is pragmatism. I cannot say now what these discussions will lead to, but I’ve said that we must remove all constraints, whatever they are,” he said.

“We must do more,” he added, with- out providing any figure on extra spending.

“I believe this crisis requires us not to change our goals, but to step up our pace,” he said.

The coronavirus outbreak has killed more than 28,000 people in France, though the number of daily deaths has fallen sharply since the peak of the outbreak.

 China’s embassy in Paris said yesterday that its Twitter account had been “falsified” after a tweet portraying the US as a bloodthirsty grim reaper sparked disquiet over the diplomatic mission’s conduct on social media.