The first Regional Workshop of the HOSPEEM-EPSU joint project “Strengthening Social Dialogue in the Hospital Sector in the East, South and Central Europe” took place on 13 – 14 June 2019 in Bucharest, Romania. M. Kahancová and. B. Holubová presented the results of their research with the geographical focus on Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Romania.

The outcomes revealed that health expenditure and personnel constraints challenge the four countries. Despite some improvements in working conditions, for example, wages increase, the migration of healthcare professionals is continually contributing to the multiple problems in the healthcare sector. Therefore the national social partner’s expectations from the EU level social dialogue are numerous and high. They need support in making a more substantial impact on the policies and in national collective bargaining. Further, they expect to gain a higher acknowledgement of their interests and consequently their incorporation in the EU level agenda. More information on the workshop is available at https://hospeem.org/activities/projects/strengthening-social-dialogue-regional-workshop-1-eastern-europe/.