THE JUNIOR Doctors Association (JDA) reached an agreement with the Government yesterday ending the threat of industrial action by public doctors and dentists.
The dispute was resolved after a lengthy meeting at the Ministry of Labour and Social Security chaired by its industrial relations director Gresford Smith.
The main issue was the JDA's demand for an increase in pay for emergency duties from the current 85 per cent of their basic pay to 150 per cent. The Government had offered to increase it to 90 per cent.
Yesterday, the parties agreed to have the emergency duty rate raised to 90 per cent of basic pay effective April, 2000 and to 95 per cent as of October 2001. The new contract, which is expected to be signed by representatives of the JDA and the Ministry of Finance today, has already expired as it covered the period April 2000 to March 2002 and another contract is now nearly six months overdue.
The junior doctors had already agreed on a pay increase of four per cent in the first year of the agreement and a further four per cent in the second year.
The JDA represents almost 700 junior doctors, comprising all doctors and dentists in public clinics and hospitals below the level of consultant.
