The National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) is launching a two-day general strike on Tuesday and suspending additional work in primary care until August 31, accusing the government of “intransigence and inflexibility”.
“Fnam had no other alternative. It is a fight to defend patients and our profession in the face of the intransigence and inflexibility of the Ministry of Health,” union president Joana Bordalo e Sa told the Lusa news agency.
According to the director, the Ministry of Health did not want to resolve the “issue of salary scales.”
“The Ministry of Health (…) postponed this until 2025 when we realised that, along with the issues they wanted to discuss, we urgently needed to start reviewing the pay scales,” he stressed, pointing out that “it is a good agreement for doctors to work in the National Health Service today.”
“We understood that the discussion needed to start as soon as possible in order to resolve it before the end of September so that we could include it in the state budget, but it was not accepted by the Ministry of Health at all. And we understand that the topics they wanted to discuss, although we agreed, we do not need to spend months and months – more than half a year – on discussions,” he said.
Fnam’s demands include replacing the normal 35-hour working week and updating the salary scale, integrating intern doctors into the entry-level category of a medical career, and replacing 25 working days of vacation per year and five additional vacation days if taken outside the peak season.
According to Joana Bordalo e Sa, “the intention of the Ministry of Health, led by Ana Paula Martins, is to want to discuss” and “push these issues through their stomachs.”
“The Ministry of Health, headed by Ana Paula Martins, did not agree to include any other solutions because for Fnam it is not just a question of salaries. It is linked to the start of negotiations on the review of our weekly working hours, taking into account the replacement of 35 hours of work – we are the only doctors who work 40 hours plus all the overtime that we are obliged to do,” he complained.
The union leader also noted that it is not accepted that “interns can be reinstated in their medical careers.”
“They didn’t accept it. This latest measure didn’t even have any budgetary implications, given that resident doctors make up a third of our workforce, that’s 10,000 of the 31,000 doctors we have in the NHS, and it’s unacceptable for them to not interfere with your career,” he said.
Ahead of the general strike, which runs from Tuesday to Wednesday, Fnam accused the Health Ministry in a statement of wanting to “encourage doctors to work more hours beyond their working hours, contributing to their exhaustion and medical risk.” Cool.
According to Fnam, Decree-Law (DL) 45-A/2024, which establishes a “physician remuneration system” to ensure the functioning of emergency services – through a remuneration supplement introduced as a significant contribution to the salaries of doctors – does not replace the regulation issued by the previous DL 50-A/2022.
“The current diploma does not encourage overtime work. It is a regular job paid through the hour bank, which is illegal in light of the Collective Agreement of Doctors (ACT). Therefore, DL 45-A/2024 creates the possibility of extending the regular work. weekly working period without restrictions,” he explained.
This Tuesday, Fnam has meetings scheduled in Porto, next to the São João Hospital, in Coimbra, at the Geral dos Covoins Hospital, and in Lisbon, in front of the Santa Maria Hospital.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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