The National Federation of Doctors (FNAM) announced on Thursday the call for a doctors’ strike scheduled for October 24.
“At the end of the meeting, due to the Government’s lack of willingness to listen to doctors, we call a doctors’ strike for October 24,” reads a social media post.
In images, the union leader, Joana Bordalo e Sá, stated that “what was presented was a fait accompli of decrees that will be published without any negotiation. Moreover, these decrees could be extremely detrimental to the public, as they imply, concerning obstetrics emergencies, the permanent closure of emergency services.”
“What will happen is that by concentrating emergencies, for example in Almada, pregnant women and babies from the Setúbal Peninsula region will be left without nearby services,” she elaborates.
Joana Bordalo e Sá further warns that “what should be discussed are the working conditions to make them fair, improved salaries for doctors to remain in the National Health Service (SNS).”
“We have sent our proposals for collective labor agreements to improve salaries and working conditions, and not a word on this matter. For this reason, the National Federation of Doctors has called for a strike on October 24 for all doctors from North to South of the country and the islands, considering the lack of respect and the intransigence in negotiating what is necessary to retain doctors in the SNS,” she declared.
According to the union leader, the ministry of Health’s decrees will take effect “from November 1,” which she believes showcases a lack of “serious negotiation.” “It is not surprising, considering the modus operandi of this Government under Luís Montenegro.”
Joana Bordalo e Sá also criticized the absence of an agenda and prior legislative proposals, stating that this contradicts “the good practices of collective bargaining and good-faith negotiation.”
“A final meeting is still scheduled for next week. They promised to send the documents, we shall see if they do,” she concluded.
The federation aimed to meet with the authorities to demand better working conditions and fair salaries for doctors in a context of “risk of collapse” of the SNS, with closed health units and overcrowded emergencies, they mentioned in a statement at the beginning of the week, adding that they were convened by the Ministry of Health for a “collective bargaining session regarding the medical career.”
Public Administration workers will also be on strike on October 24, demanding salary increases, career valuation, the reinstatement of public ties, and the defense of public services.
[Updated at 14:23]
