Slovakia’s parliament voted 74-70 to enact a contentious law that would seemingly make it impossible for doctors to retire and force them to remain at their posts. The legislation, designed by the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico in answer to a worsening health-care crisis, was approved Monday evening by the 150-member National Council. This was intended to be in the direction of addressing a possible breakdown of the healthcare system due to an impending mass resignation by over 3,000 doctors, who had announced early this year 2025 to quit their jobs on grounds of dissatisfaction with low wages and understaffing. 

Under the new law, the government can issue an emergency in the health care sector. The doctors will be directed to continue working even when they have given resignation notice. If the doctors do not comply with the emergency notification, they can be detained in prison. The emergency rule can be issued for as long as 120 days such that the government can even force doctors to continue practicing in hospitals within this period. 

The law has drawn heavy flak from the unions of medical professionals, who see the government as not reaching out enough to them to discuss the issue of reducing their wages. The wage reduction is part of a whole package of austerity measures devised to reduce the national deficit budget. Health Minister Kamil Šaško expressed hope during the parliamentary debate that the government would never need to invoke such drastic measures but emphasized that the law was necessary to avert a breakdown in the healthcare system. 

The legislation has intensified discussions about the balance between workers’ rights and the need to maintain essential services during a crisis. Critics argue that the law could undermine trust between medical professionals and the government, particularly given that the proposed cuts to the 2022 plan for salary increases over the next two years were not subject to prior consultation. With the Slovakian government working to meet the healthcare workforce shortage, approval of the law has sparked a lot of debate about the potential impact on the medical community of the country and broader implications on labor rights in Slovakia.