Unions representing doctors and the health minister will meet again this Thursday at 4pm after a round of negotiations on November 8 was canceled due to the resignation of the prime minister.
The last meeting, on November 4, between trustees and trade union organizations ended without an agreement.
The 15-day postponement came after Antonio Costa announced his resignation after the State Ministry said he was the subject of an independent Supreme Court investigation into the lithium and hydrogen projects.
Speaking to Lusa on Tuesday, the National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) and the Independent Union of Doctors (SIM) considered the new meeting urgent.
The Fnam president said she expects the Ministry of Health (MS) to have the political will to reach an agreement after 19 months of negotiations to ensure that the “National Health Service” [SNS] I can not wait any more”.
As for Joana Bordalo e Sa, there is an urgent need to discuss with the MS the salary scale and other topics such as 35 hours of work per week, 12 hours of emergency assistance and an update of the basic salary that restores the purchasing power of the troika to its previous level. for all doctors.
The SIM Secretary General was determined to reach an agreement with MS “by the 25th hour”.
Jorge Roque da Cunha said he would do everything to facilitate an agreement while the government is in power.
However, the union leader added that reaching an agreement would be difficult, stressing that MS remains intransigent.
According to Jorge Roque da Cunha, this is a “difficult situation” because “the government is stubbornly not changing the proposal it has made regarding the basic salary”, proposing a 5.5% increase, while the unions are demanding a cross-cut salary of 30%. increase.
MS provides a co-payment of €500 per month for emergency physicians and the option to choose 35 hours per week.
The proposal equalizes the basic salary of doctors (€3,025), representing an increase of 5.5% compared to the 3.6% presented in the last proposal, which was opposed by unions.
In a note published on Tuesday, the government reiterated its desire to “negotiate with unions, optimizing timing and facilitating a positive outcome to ongoing negotiations.”
Days after the prime minister’s resignation, the health minister said the government needed to examine “how far” it could go in negotiations with doctors, given the country’s political situation.
“We must evaluate the conditions under which each of the government’s political options can be implemented, because if it is true that the government is in power, it is no less true that we are not in normal circumstances,” Manuel Pizarro said then .
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.