Disgruntled Government medical consultants who have stayed off the job since Monday to protest non-payment of retroactive salaries under the new compensation review for the public sector, up to late Tuesday appeared to be headed towards a truce after a last-minute offer put on the table by the Government.

The stand-off, which led to the Ministry of Health announcing that clinic appointments at outpatient departments of hospitals and elective surgeries have been “postponed until further notice”, came after the Association of Government Medical Consultants (AGMC), which represents some 4,000 consultants, in a statement issued mid-month, accused the State of “victimisation against consultants working within the Government system”, while arguing that “all other public sector groups, including Parliamentarians, received their retroactive salaries promptly, within two months of being paid new salaries”.

In stating then that it could not guarantee normality, the association said a firm request was sent to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service to ensure retroactive salary payments to medical consultants are made within this fiscal year, and no later than March this year.

The finance ministry, however, had indicated that it would pay the retroactive salaries between April and June this year.

On Monday, while consultants stayed off the job, the Jamaica Medical Doctors’ Association (JMDA), in pressing the finance ministry to review its stance further, called upon the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of Health and Wellness, and all other pertinent authorities to conclude the discussions.

Tuesday afternoon, following the morning talks described as “amicable” during which a fresh proposal was put on the table, Dr Myrton Smith, executive member of AGMC, said an emergency meeting was to follow for the association’s membership to get their response.

“We had that meeting with the Ministry of Labour today as planned, and “we had some useful discussions” with both the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance representatives,” Smith told the Jamaica Observer.

“We now will have to take back proposed points for settlement to our membership, so we are going to convene a meeting later on today, then coming out of that meeting we can articulate to the public what the position of the AGMC will be,” he said.

Smith, in noting that the deliberations over time had been cordial, said the breakdown had been because of the Government’s stance.

“The truth is that all our discussion with the various ministries over time have been fairly amicable. The issue we have always had, and which came to a fore, is that the recommendations for payment they have put forward did not find favour with our members,” he told the Observer.

He said based on the outcome of the meeting, the medical professionals could return to their posts in their numbers today.

“Hopefully, when we present what was discussed with the Ministry of Labour to our members we will be in a position to say to the public whether or not our members have found favour with this position or not,” Smith said.

“Today (Tuesday) the data suggests that we still have a significant number of our members who are off. It is likely and possible that tomorrow (Wednesday) we will see a return of many of the members to work,” he told the Observer at the time.

Myrton, out of courtesy to the AGMC membership, declined to disclose the terms of the Government’s latest offer.

Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton, when contacted, said he was unaware of the details of the offer.

Efforts by the Observer to contact Finance Minister Fayval Williams and Labour Minister Pearnel Charles Jr for comment were unsuccessful.

One source close to the negotiations told the Observer that the AGMC, prior to meeting with the Government officials, had been minded to “walk out” if a reasonable resolution was not offered. The source noted that based on the fact that no such action had been taken, a reasonable offer might have been made.