The head of the National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) announced the strike scheduled for July 5 and 6, and does not exclude another strike in August, the head of this organization announced Saturday, accusing the Ministry of Health of “treating doctors like biscuits.”
“The government has treated the doctors of the National Health Service and, above all, the health of Portugal, with great respect (…). We have a strike planned for this week and we do not exclude the possibility of doing it in the first week of August, ”says the chief commander of Fnam, Joanna Bordallo E SA.
In a press conference held in Porto, after a national council meeting that lasted more than five hours, this federation accused the Ministry of Health of treating “doctors like biscuits”.
The president said, “The evaluation of medical work should be based on basic salary and not on productivity standards. Doctors and physicians are not like biscuits in a factory,” which “doctors’ working conditions have deteriorated further” compared to the pre-pandemic period.
For Venam, it is “unacceptable” that “after 14 months”, the government has put forward a proposal to improve salary conditions that “sounds more like conscription”. Nor does this organization recognize that internists, who account for about a third of the NHS, have been “left behind”, and demand that they be included primarily in the medical profession.
“An improvement in wages can only be expected if doctors produce more, but doctors do not work as a factory. They work in a health center or hospital to receive patients, assist and assist users. Production methods cannot be used in this field,” the trade unionist laments.
It must be remembered that precisely in the first week of August, World Youth Day will take place in Lisbon, an event for which extraordinary aids will be mobilized and which will include the operation of health centers for long hours. it is preview Establish specific and extraordinary medical support devices at key event venues, with capabilities ranging from medical emergencies to public health, and anticipate parity before, between and within hospitals.
The Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central has already warned doctors that leaves scheduled for the first week of August, the date on which World Youth Day (WYD) takes place in Lores, cannot be considered guaranteed. According to an internal circular sent by the hospital center management, the leaves already scheduled for this period are approved “with conditions” and will only be confirmed 15 days in advance.
However, Joanna Bordalo e SA understands that, from now on, the suspension will have no effect on the event that will bring Pope Francis to Portugal – either because minimal services are guaranteed, or because “doctors will be mobilized for the day based on their voluntarism”.
With new meetings scheduled with the Minister of Health for July 7 and 11, the leader of El Fanam still has hope for a convergence of positions between doctors and guardianship that will allow the August protest to be cancelled. In addition to an increase in salaries, which covers all doctors without exception, it is required to improve working conditions in terms of working hours, rest periods and the number of consultations.
The Independent Doctors Syndicate also announced a nationwide strike on July 25, 26 and 27, as well as an overtime strike in health centers and hospitals between July 24 and August 22.
In early March, doctors staged a two-day strike called by unions that are part of Fnam to demand an assessment of their careers and salary scales.
