The appeal has been signed by the Nurses Union, the Health‑Care Workers' Professional Union, the Doctors' Union, the Clinical Psychologists' and Clinical Speech Therapists' Professional Union, and the Physiotherapists' Union. Their aim was to obtain, for the next two years, a minimum wage increase faster than the Estonian average.

The professional unions cite as the reason for the failure of negotiations the decision by Minister of Social Affairs Karmen Joller and the Health Insurance Fund that in 2027 the sum needed to raise minimum wages for health‑care workers will be used to balance the Health Insurance Fund's budget.

"Nurses are not satisfied with their pay. Often the average wage is cited, but it is earned through many overtime hours and by working nights, weekends and holidays. Due to the shortage of nurses, many also work at multiple jobs. If the state cancels the pay rise, it tells these people that they are not valued or needed," said Estonian Nurses Union president Kätlin Lillemaa.

The base salary of care workers is more than one‑third lower than the national average, and wages reach closer to the average only thanks to night work and overtime.

Estonia already has a shortage of doctors, nurses and other health‑care specialists. If wages do not correspond to workload and responsibility, there is a risk that even fewer workers will remain, the professional unions note.

"Minister of Social Affairs and chair of the Health Insurance Fund's supervisory board Karmen Joller is responsible for the functioning and financing of our health‑care system, therefore her presence at collective‑agreement negotiations is very necessary. Unfortunately, the minister considered it too much to sit at the same table with health‑care workers and employers," the unions' appeal states.

In the Health Insurance Fund's financial forecast, no additional money is foreseen next year for raising health‑care workers' wages.

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