Most doctors on contract to be classified as full-time employees under new wage scheme

 

The majority of medical doctors in the public health system who are on contract will be categorised as full-time employees under the new public sector compensation system.

 

This is expected to come into effect by March 31 next year, once an agreement is signed between the Ministry of Finance and the Jamaica Medical Doctors Association (JMDA).

 

But the association says the Ministry of Finance has indicated that doctors currently on contract will not be receiving retroactive payments.

 

JMDA President Dr. Mindi Fitz-Henley says she will be seeking clarification on these issues before signing with the Ministry of Finance. 

 

Although the majority doctors on contract will be classified as full-time employees, Dr. Fitz-Henley questioned what would happen to other such doctors including interns, senior house officers as well as doctors who are in training programmes. 

 

Where the lack of retroactive payments for those currently on contract is concerned, the JMDA president suggested that this arrangement would not be fair since both doctors on contract and those who are full-time employees work "side by side and our Heads of Agreement does not distinguish between the two types of doctors".

 

"We've always had doctors who are on contracts as well as those who are in posts, and so how is it now that one doctor will be making more than the other doctor? So that part is something that is a sticking point for us that has to be clarified some more and we have to come to an agreement about that. So, we'll be taking this back to our members so that we can discuss the way forward," she explained.