First practical warning strike ever
How much medical assistants earn
By Christina Lohner
February 8, 2024, 4:55 p.m
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For the first time, medical assistants are walking off their jobs in doctors’ offices to fight for higher wages. Starting salaries so far start just above the minimum wage. The skilled workers are in demand.
Anyone who wanted to go to the doctor on Thursday or just get an appointment had to bring even more time with them in some places than they often already did: in the current collective bargaining negotiations, medical assistants were called on to go on warning strike, for the first time in the history of the Association of Medical Professionals (VMF). . He warned of longer waiting times or even canceled treatments because the doctors affected would have to take on the tasks of their employees. This has long been part of everyday life in some practices, because medical assistants (MFA) have become rare – and correspondingly sought after.
Their tasks include not only admitting patients and making appointments: the specialists assist with examinations, treatments and surgical procedures. For example, they apply bandages, take blood or carry out laboratory work. They are also responsible for documentation, hygiene and billing. From their point of view, their salaries are too low for this; the association demanded an average of 14.6 percent more wages. In the afternoon he announced an agreement with the employers, although the result will not be announced for another week.
According to the employment agency, the average gross salary for full-time MFA is currently 2,778 euros per month. A quarter earns up to a good 2,300 euros, a quarter around 3,300 euros or more. There are significant regional differences. While the median in Bavaria, Bremen and Baden-Württemberg is almost 2,900 euros, in Hamburg it even reaches almost 2,950 euros. Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt bring up the rear with less than 2,400 euros. In the big cities, practices usually pay significantly more than in the countryside, in Munich and Stuttgart over 3,000 euros.
From up to 2200 to 4400 euros
According to the now-ending collective agreement, salaries currently start at 2,207 euros in the first four years of employment in the lowest job group and 3,200 euros in the highest group, which corresponds to a management position. After the three-year training, the hourly wage starts at 13.22 euros, which is not even seven percent above the minimum wage. The professional association demanded a starting salary of 17 euros.
From the 29th year of employment, between 3,058 euros in the lowest group and 4,434 euros in the highest activity group are due according to the tariff. In addition to professional experience, the prerequisite for the highest level of activity is appropriate further training, for example as a business economist or specialist in the healthcare sector.
The majority of medical assistants are paid according to the tariff, as a regular survey by the professional association shows. Last year, 60 percent of those surveyed received salaries based on the collective bargaining agreement, 15 percent even earned more and a quarter earned less.
The doctors are running away from their employees
For comparison: The job portal Stepstone calculated a median salary of around 3,650 euros per month across all sectors last year. According to the Federal Statistical Office, the average salary of full-time employees in Germany was 4,323 euros almost a year ago. Salaries of high earners drive this value up. The median, on the other hand, is the value in the middle: half earn less, half earn more.
MFA career starters can earn an average of 500 euros more in hospitals than in practices, as the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance (ZI) found three years ago. In addition, medical assistants report enormous overtime and demanding patients. So it’s no wonder that more and more people are leaving practices. It’s not just pediatricians who can’t find an MFA, this applies “everywhere, the market is empty,” says association president Hannelore König. According to a ZI survey from 2020, a quarter of the training practices complained about an exodus of self-trained staff – the majority changed their profession completely or to the inpatient sector.
Doctors are trying to counteract this with financial incentives. According to the ZI, almost three quarters of contracted medical practices paid their staff special payments and surcharges. Several medical associations even support the current warning strike; they point to the medical budget and demand that politicians and health insurance companies increase it. “The practices are chronically underfunded, and our MFAs also feel this every day,” explained Dirk Heinrich, federal chairman of the Virchowbund, which supports resident doctors. Stress and workload among the practice employees increased “to an unbearable level”.
Association points to high cost of living
Their association, on the other hand, sees some scope for employers, such as pediatricians or family doctors. “Every doctor should be aware of the net salary that MFAs go home with and that they have to use it to offset the high food prices,” says König.
In an interview with ntv.de about current strikes in various industries, labor lawyer Stefan Greiner also pointed out – as well as the employee market – that workers can enforce higher demands due to the shortage of skilled workers: “We all notice that everything is becoming more expensive. Of course that works Demands for higher wages. However, a key driver of today’s strikes is the new world of work and demographic change.
Medical practices have already had to reduce the scope of their services due to a lack of staff, as the ZI discovered years ago. Dissatisfaction among patients is increasing. Private health insurance recorded an increase in membership last year.