It is “inconceivable and unacceptable” for trade unions to use patient health and safety as a tool to force their employers to accept their demands, the Cyprus Federation of Patients’ Associations (Osak) said on Friday as a doctor’s strike looms next week.
Osak said that while an extraordinary meeting of its executive committee respected workers right to strike this should not put the lives of patients in danger.
It added the decision to close A&E departments “cannot, under any circumstances, be accepted”
A&E departments, it said, operate to save lives and “cannot be put into the equation of any claim of any sector of employees, let alone doctors”.
The point of contention lies with financial incentives the doctors want paid out for 2023. A study by an independent audit firm in July put the sum at €2.5 million, while unions seek €4.5m.
Okypy spokesman Charalambos Charilaousaid that for 2023 the amount to be paid to doctors is what was announced by an independent audit house, namely €2.5 million.
He said it “is imperative there be a new agreement between Okypy and the doctors”.
Okypy has also warned the strike could cost lives.
The Pasyki doctors union has announced a 48-hour strike on Tuesday and Wednesday, across all sectors.
Osak also said the strike will put pressure on the ambulance service, as it will be called on to ferry passengers from public to private sector facilitities.
“As Osak, we can only condemn the postponement of treatments, including chemotherapy, surgeries and scheduled appointments,” it added, saying that some people have waited months for appointments, which will now be delayed again.
The public health sector, it said, faces “multiple and serious problems, especially in terms of comprehensive and quality service to patients” and “all those involved should cooperate for their modernisation and upgrading and not constantly cause disruption with their actions, endangering patients and the organisation in which they work”.
On the substance of the disagreement between doctors and the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO, which runs Gesy), Osak said it would not take a position.
Charilaou said the agreement with doctors for 2024-2027, which is also under discussion, needs to change to meet the demands of state hospitals becoming financially autonomous in a very short period of time.
He added that the salaries of doctors in the public and private sectors now compare very favourably.
He reiterated it is the minister of health’s position that a comprehensive settlement for the period 2024-2027 be found as soon as possible so that labour peace prevails.
Okypy held a meeting with President Nikos Christodoulides on Friday, with government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis saying the government is willing to engage in dialogue with the aim of staving the strike off “until the very last minute”.
He added that the government is “making every effort” and “focusing on the patient”, and that this “is proven by today’s meeting”.
“The government is at the disposal of doctors and is willing to engage in dialogue until the very last moment to find a holistic solution, which is what society demands,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Keve) said the strike was “unwarranted” and was reminiscent of “old attitudes” and “destructive practices of the past”.
Keve called on the government and the parliament to take initiatives without delay to promote legislation regulating the solution of labour disputes in essential services to prevent this happening in the future.
It also urged the doctors to reflect on their responsibilities towards their patients and vulnerable groups, honour the agreement they had signed and call off the strike.
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