WILLEMSTAD – Although Curaçao’s government has approved higher salary limits for medical specialists at public hospitals, the cabinet has rejected proposals to introduce performance-based compensation and differentiated pay between specialties.
The decision is part of a ministerial decree signed on May 21, 2026 by acting Health Minister Gilmar Pisas and Finance Minister Charles Cooper.
Under the new policy, eligible medical specialists at government-affiliated hospitals may earn up to 110 percent of the maximum salary allowed under Curaçao’s LNT legislation.
Before adopting the measure, the government consulted several advisory bodies, including the LNT working group, Stichting Bureau Toezicht Normering Overheidsentiteiten (SBTNO), the Inspector General for Public Health and the Social Insurance Bank (SVB).
During the consultation process, proposals were discussed to introduce salary differentiation by medical specialty and performance-based compensation tied to objectives such as reducing hospital waiting lists.
The cabinet ultimately decided against those ideas.
According to the government, differentiating salaries between specialties could create undesirable inequalities within the healthcare sector. Authorities also argued that implementing such a system would lead to an overly lengthy and complicated decision-making process.
The government instead opted for a uniform increase under the existing exception mechanism provided by the LNT law.
The measure took immediate effect and applies retroactively to December 21, 2024.