1,000 residents quit to protest doctors agreement

Medical Association chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman will have trouble persuading doctors to support the deal he is brokering.

1,000 residents today resigned en mass to protest the pending agreement between the Israel Medical Association and the Ministry of Finance to end the doctors' strike. Medical Association chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman will have trouble persuading the doctors to support the deal, which includes punching a time clock and specialists with up to five years seniority carrying out at least five duty shifts a month.

Eidelman told the doctors that the Ministry of Finance's consent to breach the public sector salary agreements, and to improve the cost of the agreement beyond the understandings reached in late July, was directly contingent on the doctors agreeing to the time clock and duty shifts by specialists. He said that the time clock would, for the first time, result in doctors being paid overtime, and that it was no coincidence that hospital administrators were worried about it.

Eidelman added that specialists carrying out duty shifts would receive 140% the regular rate for residents, i.e. NIS 1,200 per shift. In addition to the financial aspect and doctors' argument that the compensation was insufficient, Eidelman said that duty shifts by specialists would greatly improve the quality of care at government hospitals, which was the Medical Association's primary objective throughout the struggle. He said that the duty shifts would end the problems in finding specialists in the afternoons and weekends.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on August 4, 2011

© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011

Twitter Facebook Linkedin RSS Newsletters גלובס Israel Business Conference 2018