Prime Minister António Costa said this Wednesday that he hopes that in a new round of negotiations on Thursday, doctors’ unions will move closer to “the giant step that the government has already taken.”
“The negotiation process is underway. Tomorrow, Thursday, there will be a new meeting and let’s hope that this time the trade unions will take a step closer to the giant step that the government has already taken: Reply,” said António Costa in response to the words of PCP parliamentary leader Paula Santos during a two-week debate in parliament.
On the second day of a strike called by the National Federation of Doctors (Fnam), which was welcomed by the PKP, the leader of the communist parliament accused the executive of allowing “the National Health Service to languish” and asked the prime minister not to “deceive people with billions who, they claim to be diverted to health care, failing to realize that much of it goes directly to private groups that profit from the disease.”
In his response, António Costa noted that the government is investing “more budget in the SNS” and that “with a larger budget there are more professionals in the SNS”, adding that “more professionals mean more hospital consultations, more primary health care consultations , more surgeries, more emergency care.”
“This is the reality of SNS. And we must do more and better, and that is why we are investing in better governance,” he said.
The head of the executive branch of the socialist majority also said that the government is “improving working conditions and wages for specialists.”
The commitment to the second day of the doctors’ strike is 90%, reflecting the uncertainty of these professionals in the policies of the Ministry of Health, the president of the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) said this Wednesday.
Doctors began a two-day strike on Tuesday, a strike that comes five days after unions meet with the Health Ministry, with a new round of negotiations scheduled for next Thursday.
FNAM has planned a new strike for November 14 and 15 unless an agreement is reached with the Ministry of Health.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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