Doctors' union fights for improved status

August and September 1998 saw strikes by doctors in Portugal, called by the SIM trade union, which has rejected an agreement on doctors' pay signed in July by the government and another union, FNAM.

The National Federation of Doctors (Federação Nacional dos Médicos, FNAM) and the government signed an agreement on 29 July 1998 that will increase salary scale indexes for the medical profession. Since 1989, doctors have been in conflict with the Ministry of Health over the issue of salary scales, and they continue to demand a higher index for their pay (PT9708133F). The Independent Union of Doctors (Sindicato Independente dos Médicos, SIM), representing more doctores than FNAM, has contested the agreement and called for strikes.

The agreement signed by the government and FNAM (representing about 7,000 doctors) envisages a revaluation of the salary scale index by July 2000. For doctors working a "full-time" schedule - 35 hours per week - in the national health system (numbering about 16,000), the applicable civil service pay index will be increased from 69 to 72. The salary differential for those working an "exclusive" schedule - 42 hours per week - for the state (about 5,300 doctors) will rise from 25% to 32%. There will also be a revaluation by five points of the index scale for the three categories of medical professions.

According to SIM, however, the agreement favours only a small minority. In addition, the rise is lower than that obtained by nurses. SIM's principal demands are the following:

• an increase from 69% to 100% in the civil service salary index for all full-time doctors;

• the option of "exclusive" status both for doctors working 35 hours per week and for in-house on-call doctors with 42-hour week schedules;

• changes in how overtime hours are calculated;

• revocation of Decree-Law 259 which treats Saturday mornings and Sundays as normal working hours, making them ineligible for overtime pay; and

• an incremental rise in the salary differential to 37% (rather than 32%) for doctors working an "exclusive" schedule with a 42-hour week.

On 14 August 1998, SIM began a national strike that lasted 11 days in total (both working days and days in between). A second, indefinite phase of the work stoppage began on 21 September and is expected to last until the end of the year. It involves "self-service" action whereby any doctor may, at any time, strike without warning, for as long as he or she wishes. The strike includes both professionals who are members of SIM and those who are not, and includes private and public healthcare units not managed by the state.