Participants at the 14th Congress of FNAM, the National Federation of Doctors, have unanimously approved a motion today to join the general strike on December 11, called in protest to the government’s package of labour reforms.
President of the federation Joana Bordalo e Sá told Lusa that the motion approved in Viana do Castelo, on the last day of the congress, includes an appeal “for the participation of all doctors, stating that the defence of labour rights is inseparable from the defence of the medical profession and the SNS state health system.”
“The National Federation of Doctors is reaffirming its objectives, which are the fight for fair wages, dignified working conditions, the reintegration of resident doctors into the profession, and the unwavering defence of an SNS that is public, universal, accessible, and close to the population,” she said.
It is “unacceptable that (health) minister Ana Paula Martins is still replacing the concept of the SNS with a system that empties it, diluting the public sector and absolving the state of responsibility,” Bordalo e Sá continued.
“We reject this view and reaffirm that the SNS is a national health service and a constitutional commitment to citizens”.
FNAM has been at permanent loggerheads with this government since it took office, so it is perhaps no surprise that it has voted to support the initiative spearheaded by the CGTP and UGT syndicates – an initiative that prime minister Luís Montenegro has sought to suggest is much more politically-motivated than anything else.
Presidential candidate Luís Marques Mendes – himself of the same PSD political persuasion as Mr Montenegro – has tried to diffuse tensions by encouraging the government to reach agreements with syndicates, either before December 11 or after.
“We are running the risk of losing social peace”, the seasoned political thinker told TSF Rádio/ Jornal de Notícias. “This is a very delicate situation (…) On the one hand, the government believes that labour legislation needs to be reviewed, and it has every right to do so. On the other hand, there are trade unions that believe in holding a general strike, and they too have every right to do so (…) I believe that the UGT is a trade union that deserves attention, respect and sensitivity. Not only because it is a democratic trade union, but also because it has shown a great sense of responsibility in the past in reaching various agreements and has therefore already proven itself,” he added.
Bottom line: “authority is not authoritarianism, and reform is not destabilisation”.
If the government does not want to negotiate, “we run the risk of losing social peace”, Marques Mendes told his interviewers.
“We must ensure social peace (…) Modern governance is done in partnership. It is done with authority, but not with authoritarianism. It is done with a desire for reform, but not with imbalance. We must combat social imbalances, which are very large and very serious. And this is done by mobilising everyone, not by pitting some against others,” said the man increasingly seen as a very determined candidate to take up responsibilities in Belém Palace once Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has completed his second mandate (in March next year).
