MILITANT junior medical doctors have warned that there could be unrest in public clinics and hospitals in the coming days as they threatened to take industrial action over their delayed revised compensation package, but Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton is pleading with them to exercise patience.

According to Tufton, the Government is working to iron out outstanding issues related to their compensation and other matters.

“There is an earnest attempt, I believe, to sort it out. So I would just encourage some patience until it is sorted out because it is not a matter that is being ignored. It’s just a tedious process,” Tufton told the Jamaica Observer on Friday.

President of the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association (JMDA) Dr Renee Badroe, however, stressed that the time for action is now and that this is the calm before the storm.

The medical doctors are not happy with the finance ministry’s proposed new rate for calculating remuneration for overtime, and the non-payment of retroactive monies.

In a scathing letter on Thursday, the JMDA — union representing junior doctors — said that during a meeting the previous day it had given the Government a 24-hour deadline to respond to its demand for a comprehensive and transparent resolution of the issue.

Dr Badroe told the Observer on Friday that the Government’s lack of response way past Thursday’s deadline demonstrates that “they don’t care, and it’s either, what it looks like, their way or the highway.

“I can’t guarantee what the doctors will do in the upcoming days. But I can say that now is the calm before the storm and members are upset and our members are demoralised,” she said.

Dr Badroe said the doctors are upset that the finance ministry wants to impose a new way of calculating overtime as part of the Government’s compensation review exercise which they believe is unfair, as doctors would be paid at the same level regardless of their schedules or level of work.

“And on top of that, [they] don’t want to pay retroactive monies from when the date actually owed, which is from April last year. So they don’t want to pay the retroactive monies, they want to impose a new system that is inequitable, and the JMDA is not standing for that,” she insisted.

“The Ministry of Finance has sought to impose its way or the highway for us. They have blatantly disrespected doctors by not resolving this issue,” she added.

In its letter, the JMDA expressed frustration that a meeting on Wednesday with the finance and health ministries and regional health authorities failed to yield any meaningful progress.

“Instead, it has reinforced the perception that the concerns of Jamaica’s doctors are being met with delay and flagrant disregard,” the JMDA said.

It said that the Government’s continued failure to honour its agreement undermines the trust between the Administration and the JMDA, and charged that this breach of trust, delays and uncertainty have taken a toll on doctors, who work tirelessly under challenging conditions.

“Our members are disheartened by the lack of urgency and transparency. Despite our repeated efforts to collaborate with the Government and negotiate in good faith, the process is marred by evasion and procrastination. These delays are not only disrespectful to our members, who form the backbone of the nation’s health care, but they also jeopardise the entire health system,” the JMDA said.

However, Tufton told the Observer that in a recent meeting with the JMDA there were discussions about a number of issues “and I thought it was a good conversation.

“I know that the Ministry of Finance is trying to sort out the issues. The new minister [Fayval Williams], who has just come in, has been bringing herself up to speed on the issues. We held a number of meetings. I’ve had several discussions with her. There was some information requested from the regions [which] all of them have submitted. Then there was some additional information that was requested so they had to go back and submit the additional information [which caused some delays]” he said.

On Thursday afternoon, Williams told Radio Jamaica that the ministry would meet with the junior doctors to discuss their concerns.

The JMDA represents all medical doctors below the rank of consultant working in government health services — medical interns, senior house officers and medical officers from levels one to three.