Hospital doctors from Athens and Piraeus are planning mass demonstrations at the Thessaloniki International Fair to demand a doubling of their pay amid rising living costs.
The Union of Hospital Doctors of Athens and Piraeus, known as EINAP, called on medical staff to turn out in force at the upcoming rallies in Thessaloniki to demand higher base earnings and the restoration of their 13th and 14th month salaries.
The union's call for industrial action follows Decision 1201/2026 by the Plenary of the Council of State, Greece's supreme administrative court, which rejected a legal appeal seeking to reinstate traditional 13th and 14th month bonus payments for public sector employees.
Court ruling on public sector bonus pay
Responding to the verdict, EINAP stated that the court's rejection confirmed that workers could not rely on judicial proceedings to secure fair compensation. The union argued that soaring living expenses have left real wages for medical personnel far behind their increasing financial needs and professional duties.
Bonus payments in the form of 13th and 14th month salaries were historically paid to public workers in Greece to assist with holiday and annual leave expenses. These payments were eliminated for public sector employees during economic austerity reforms enacted in the aftermath of the country's national debt crisis.
Pay rates and working conditions
EINAP also raised concerns over the working conditions of resident doctors, rejecting the practice of treating junior physicians as cheap scientific labor. The union reported that trainees are being used to fill severe staffing shortages by working exhausting on-call shifts, often without adequate supervision from senior specialists, while earning an hourly rate of just 5.38 euros during on-call duties.
Despite official government claims of generous salary increases, EINAP released figures comparing current earnings against pay levels from 2012. According to the union, monthly taxable pay has risen by only about 140 euros for newly qualified resident doctors and 59 euros for Grade B consultants, while monthly pay remains lower than 2012 levels by 43 euros for Grade A consultants and 238 euros for department directors.
The planned demonstrations will coincide with the annual Thessaloniki International Fair, a major economic and political forum held in northern Greece where trade unions traditionally stage protests during speeches by government leaders.
