“The confirmation of what Fnam has been demanding with great firmness and legitimacy is the formal resumption of the negotiations for the collective labor agreement, which we believe was unjustifiably blocked by the previous Ministry of Health under Ana Paula Martins,” stated the president of the union, Joana Bordalo e Sá.
The union leader spoke to Lusa after meeting for about an hour and a half with the chief of staff for the Secretary of State for Health, Sandra Parreira, and the representative of public enterprise entities (EPE) in the health sector, Paulo Barbosa, at the Directorate-General for Employment and Labor Relations (DGERT), which mediated the meeting in Porto.
According to the Fnam leader, the “first effective negotiation” with the oversight was scheduled for the end of July, with the date and location yet to be defined.
Joana Bordalo e Sá regretted the Ministry of Health’s prior “obstruction,” for its refusal to negotiate with Fnam, an attitude she deemed “unacceptable.”
“Fnam is the union structure that represents the most doctors in the National Health Service (SNS). Therefore, the reopening of this process is a legal right and was an undeniable demand. [Today’s meeting] was solely to achieve this conciliation. The blockage has ended,” she emphasized, adding that “disregard for collective negotiation rules has come to an end.”
Fnam reiterated its “unwavering commitment” to defending doctors’ rights, demanding a collective labor agreement that “values the medical career and ensures progression.”
Last week, Fnam requested DGERT’s intervention to resume negotiating the collective labor agreement with the Ministry of Health, following a meeting on March 10.
At that time, the oversight denied negotiating with Fnam, claiming that ongoing proceedings involved conciliation with local health units about collective work regulation.
The Government signed an agreement on salary revaluation and medical careers on December 30, 2024, but only with the Independent Medical Union (SIM).
The federation initiated the “available legal mechanisms” to ensure compliance with collective negotiation, alleging that the minister’s refusal to negotiate with Fnam was “a serious violation of the law.”
Fnam sent communications to DGERT and the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, as well as letters to the prime minister and the President of the Republic, demanding that Ana Paula Martins “comply with the law” and convene the federation and the other involved entities for a negotiation that considered the counterproposals presented.
