THE Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) movement announced that a symbolic ‘mass resignation’ is in the pipeline if the Government still refuses to grant the remaining 22,288 contract doctors permanent posts by December.
HDK spokesman Dr Muhammad Yassin has told Utusan Malaysia that the movement is planning a strike after the previous walkout where contract doctors will now hold placards saying “mass resignation”.
Government contract doctors at around 15-29 hospitals had carried out mass walkouts in a nationwide strike on July 26 to demand job security and better career opportunities.
According to Dr Muhammad Yassin, his team will organise a press conference this week to clarify the matter, where the exact date of the second series of strikes will also be revealed.
The Utusan Malaysia article further reported Dr Muhammad Yassin saying that the protest will take between 30 minutes to an hour, and that the team was still unsure of the total number of participants.
“In my opinion, if we continue to work with the Health Ministry but still hold the contract doctors status, it’s hard for us to move forward (get the same opportunities as permanent doctors),” he added.
When asked if the protest will disrupt healthcare services at government hospitals, Dr Muhammad Yassin told the Malay daily that it will not happen as other medical workers will still be carrying out their duties.
“It is our responsibility to take care of the patients so that nothing will be affected no matter what we do. Nothing bad happened during the previous strike,” he said.
He went on to add that his team will also continue to hold talks with relevant ministries and government agencies until the date of the protest.
On Nov 2, it was reported that the movement will hold another protest after claiming that Budget 2022 did not solve the problems faced by contract doctors.
The movement secretariat said that the contract doctor issue and problems in the healthcare system were not taken seriously by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
In a statement posted on Twitter, it said that the discussion has gone on for five years but yet, there is still no solution, with the promise of permanent positions with the Employees Provident Fund contributions being nothing short of a bait to get the contract doctors to stop speaking up. – Nov 16, 2021
Pic credit: New Straits Times
