Health Minister Ana Paula Martins will meet for the first time this Friday with unions representing doctors, nurses and pharmacists and will begin negotiations on wages demanded by union structures.
The first meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Ministry of Health with the Independent Union of Doctors (SIM), followed by a meeting with the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) scheduled for 11 a.m.
This afternoon the new ministerial team will meet with unions representing nurses and the National Union of Pharmacists.
Increases in wages, improved working conditions, career growth are just some of the demands that trade unions have already demanded from the previous ministerial team and which they will bring back to the negotiating table with the new government.
SIM’s demands include restoring a 15% pay rise for doctors by 2026, implementing the interim agreement reached with the previous government and career advancement.
FNAM will bring to the negotiating table 10 points that it considers necessary to “address the severity of the crisis in the social security system,” to hire doctors and guarantee the provision of medical care, including restoring the normal basis of the weekly working period. 35 hours and updating the salary grid, restoring medical internship as a category of entry into a medical career and introducing increases in salary positions in each category, as well as optimizing competitions.
The Portuguese Union of Nurses (SEP) said in a statement that it is “necessary” to agree at the first meeting “the issues and a timetable for negotiations focused on the moments when each of the demands will be resolved.”
Assessing nursing careers is one of the priorities of the SDP, as well as addressing the various inequities that continue to persist as a result of scoring nurses.
Five nurses’ unions, which called off a five-day strike planned for late April and early May after the minister was ready to begin negotiations, are also demanding a pay and career review.
The Nurses’ Union, the Independent Union of Nurses, the Democratic Union of Nurses of Portugal, the Independent Union of All United Nurses and the National Union of Nurses are also demanding a “fair, transparent and feasible” evaluation and performance model.
At the meeting with the head, the National Union of Pharmacists (NUP) will also demand updating of tariff schedules, full accounting of work experience in the SNU for promotion and career growth, adequacy of the number of pharmacists to the needs of public services and recognition of the title of specialist by the Ministry of Health.
On Saturday, the health minister said she had “no a priori restrictions” in negotiations with unions, admitting she was still unaware of the demands of these health workers.
“The unions in the meetings that we are going to hold will present their specifications and we will discuss with all seriousness and loyalty these specifications that we do not yet know about at the moment,” said Ana Paula Martins.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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