France awards health workers historic pay

  14 July 2020    Read: 1005
France awards health workers historic pay @GettyImages

France has approved pay rises worth €8bn (£7.2bn; $9bn) for health workers, with the government hailing their role in fighting coronavirus, BBC reported.

The deal was signed with trade unions on Monday after weeks of negotiations, and will see wages rise by €183 a month on average.

Health workers have been praised throughout the pandemic with regular displays of public appreciation. But they wanted more than recognition and have held protests to demand pay rises and better funding for hospitals.

The announcement came as the country prepares to celebrate a scaled-down Bastille Day on Tuesday, a national public holiday during which health workers will be celebrated for their efforts during the pandemic.

More than 200,000 infections and 30,000 deaths have been recorded in France, one of Europe's worst-hit countries.


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