“It has long been decided, as is normal, that any assessment of the measures outlined in the alleged new decree-law would only occur after the decree-law is actually known,” the movement states in a communiqué.
On Wednesday, it was reported that a group of over a thousand contract doctors was preparing to halt emergency services once the government issues the decree aimed at lowering hourly pay.
In today’s communiqué, the movement notes that the possibility of emergency services halting was mentioned in the minutes of an initial online meeting of the movement’s leadership. However, by Wednesday, “such grounds were no longer on the table as they were publicized.”
The minutes from October 30 specified that it was decided “once the decree-law reducing compensation for contractors is published,” a “general halt of emergency services for a minimum of three days” would be triggered.
The document also stated that organizing the halt would be “formalized via email to be sent by all contractors to their respective department heads or administration boards” of local health units.
In the communiqué released today, the movement of contract doctors advances that their leadership “was spontaneously created and its representatives elected by the will of colleagues to be mandated to truly understand the situation, considering the news of the changes” announced by the government.
“We have requested a meeting with the Ministry of Health to evaluate the decree-law, to discuss the situation, in an attempt to understand the measures it intends to implement and to provide our field view on whether they can be applied,” states the unsigned communiqué from the leadership.
The President of the Order of Doctors today urged the Ministry of Health to meet with contract doctors, arguing that if the announced halt is realized, the impact on emergency services “will be very significant.”
Lusa | 17:56 – 06/11/2025
The movement also rejects the notion that all contract doctors earn more than 100 euros per hour, “as this is factually incorrect,” emphasizing that they have no labor rights as contractors.
“We have nothing more to report on the matter, waiting calmly for the meeting with the authorities that has been requested, at which time we can demonstrate and discuss, if interested, in an appropriate setting, all our grounds regarding our activity within the NHS,” highlights the leadership.
The issue is the regulation of doctor services work approved by the government at the end of October, which aims to standardize compensation for these health professionals and includes provisions for incompatibilities.
With this new regulation, the government seeks to minimize pay discrepancies between doctors with contracts with the NHS and doctors working as contractors, most of whom are hired on a task basis by hospitals to ensure emergency services.
