The government will examine how far it can go in negotiations with doctors, the health minister said this Friday, stressing, however, that the country is not in normal circumstances, citing the current political crisis.
“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 on on the sidelines of the opening of the 32nd Congress of the Order of Dentists, held in Matosinhos, Porto district.
And for this reason, negotiations with doctors require “very careful study” from the point of view of not only legal registration, but also the political legitimacy of each decision made, he emphasized.
“We’re going to explore how far we can go with this,” he added.
The Independent Union of Doctors (SIM) announced this Friday that it will continue its strike against overtime in primary health care and calls for the resumption of negotiations with the Ministry of Health.
Also this Friday, the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) asked for the immediate resumption of negotiations with the Ministry of Health.
While he said he had “taken good note” of the unions’ intentions, Pizarro admitted that he did not see “any desire on the part of the union, which had decided to continue the strike next week, to move closer to the position of the Ministry of Health” and call off the strike due to the current “very special circumstances “
The last meeting between the Ministry of Health and medical unions was scheduled for last Wednesday, but was canceled after the resignation of Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
That day, the health minister told parliament that negotiations with medical unions would continue, saying he had not yet given up hope of reaching an agreement with doctors.
Portugal will hold early legislative elections on March 10, 2024, scheduled by the President of the Republic, following the resignation of the Prime Minister on Tuesday.
António Costa became the subject of an investigation by the State Ministry in the Supreme Court after suspects in a case related to a business related to lithium, green hydrogen and a data center in Sines named him as having interfered with unlocking procedures.
According to the Office of the Prosecutor (PO), crimes related to malfeasance, active and passive corruption of political officials and influence peddling may be at risk.
The MP believes that the Prime Minister interfered with the approval of the diploma to benefit the interests of the company responsible for the data center, Start Campus, according to the indictment, which contains several other references to António Costa.
On the day of his dismissal, Costa refused to engage in “any illegal or objectionable acts.”
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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