The National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) announced a general strike this Friday for July 23 and 24, arguing that the government intends to start negotiations on wage scales only in 2025.
“The Health Ministry refused to sign the negotiation protocol and ended up pushing doctors to take other countermeasures, such as strikes,” the Fnam president told Lusa after a meeting with the Health Ministry.
In addition to this two-day national strike, an overtime strike in primary care is also planned for this month, according to Joana Bordalo e Sa, with the union structure also calling on doctors to come forward with additional incapacity bills that go beyond the law.
“The decision has been taken and a preliminary notice will be issued,” assured the union leader, for whom wage scale negotiations are a priority and must be completed by September to be included in next year’s state budget.
Joana Bordalo i Sa stressed that Fnam had proposed a “fast timetable” for negotiations on the salary scale and had agreed to all the points that the ministry intended to include in the negotiation protocol.
“In addition, the proposal [do Governo] “It did not include solutions to improve working conditions, such as replacing the 35-hour work week and reintegrating internships into careers,” the federation’s president said, stressing that it was “unacceptable” to postpone the start of wage negotiations until next year.
“It is unacceptable for us to postpone the start of the discussion of the salary scale until 2025. But seriously, we needed to write this down so that it would appear in the state budget,” 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.
On Wednesday, the Independent Medical Union (SIM) reached agreement with the government on a negotiating protocol – setting out the calendar and issues to be discussed – which includes a pay scale – a condition necessary for talks to progress.
“The next agreement on remuneration tables will be an agreement that will be in force for the next few years, starting in 2025,” the SIM secretary general said, hoping that the talks would conclude on March 31 next year.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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