Zbigniew Religa said on Polish Radio One this morning he would resign if the changes he proposed were not implemented in the health service.

According to the minister, an increase in the health insurance premium from 9 to 13 per cent of remuneration is the only way out. Yesterday, PM Jarosław Kaczyński announced that no increase in the premium should not be expected for the time being.

Minister Religa stressed that he would continue discussions on the subject with the president and prime minister. The head of health ministry hopes that the said premium will be increased in six months at the latest. He ensured that he had discussed it with economists.

Zbigniew Religa said that the government could not afford another pay rise in the health service this year and pointed out that a 30 per cent increase, already granted to health service employees, posed a significant financial effort on the part of the state budget.

Professor Religa stressed that was the best the Polish government could afford to do. He suggested that the pay rise could come into effect by the end of the year, but said that a good will of the other party was also necessary. Meanwhile, in the opinion of Religa, health service employees want a pay rise immediately and they do not want to discuss how their salaries would increase in the coming years.

Another round of negotiations between nurses and the government in the presence of the health minister is to begin today at 1 p.m.