KUALA LUMPUR: A group of contract doctors has cautioned that more than 3,000 of them who are working for the Health Ministry, will resign within this month after receiving the permanent post interview results.
A spokesman from Mogok Doktor Malaysia told the New Straits Times that as many as 87 per cent of contract doctors were not offered permanent posts.
They would then remain in contract and be denied the entitlement for a lot of benefits including pension, he added.
In fact, the spokesman said their salaries were much lower than those who were in permanent positions at about RM1,000 to RM2,000 per month, even though their responsibilities were the same.
"Contract doctors are not eligible for master programmes, and there is no clear and transparent criteria for selection into permanent positions.
"Contract doctors also have no study leave, unpaid leave and other. There are countless benefits that we are being denied. There is no pension as well," the spokesman said.
Previously, the New Straits Times reported that the Mogok Doktor Malaysia was planning a three-day strike from April 3 to 5.
They had warned the public of longer waiting times at government hospitals and clinics on those dates.
"Dear Malaysians, do not visit any general hospitals or klinik kesihatan from April 3 to 5, 2023, as more than 8,000 contract doctors will go on strike by taking medical or emergency leave as a protest against the unfair system and low wages.
"Your waiting time is expected to be much longer than usual. Thank you. #MogokDoktorKontrak," an Instagram post on the account said.
The group had also claimed that some "napoleons" in hospital departments had frozen annual leaves and off days on those dates to stop contract doctors from participating in the strike.
However, the spokesman affirmed that the contract doctors would still continue to join despite the warnings.
The group is demanding the absorption of all contract medical officers into permanent positions, basic salary increments, higher on-call rates, and an automatic reduction in the compulsory service term for medical officers to three years.
It is also calling for a reduction in on-call and work hours for medical officers and house officers, and for specialist shortages to be addressed.
"As per our memorandum, we have been getting low wages for more than 20 years, as low as RM9 per hour for our dreadful on-calls and currently our government is planning to eliminate our critical allowance of RM750 per month.
"Please treat contract doctors like a human first before demanding us to work. We have sacrificed ourselves and even our lives during the pandemic but now we are getting forgotten by the health minister and the public," the spokesman said.