Doctors bend on vacation pay to secure wage hike

Physicians will receive their second salary increase this year as agreed upon in the 2011 labor agreement.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Baby recieving blood infusion 370 (photo credit: Courtesy Ronnie Albert/Western Galilee Hospital)
Baby recieving blood infusion 370
(photo credit: Courtesy Ronnie Albert/Western Galilee Hospital)
Despite the planned budget cuts, the country’s public-sector physicians will receive their second salary increase this year as agreed upon in the labor agreement reached in August 2011 by the Treasury and the Israel Medical Association.
IMA chairman Dr. Leonid Eidelman, who initially feared that the increase would be postponed to 2015, made the comments on Tuesday. The IMA had declared a wage dispute over the issue two weeks ago. Since then, the IMA conducted negotiations with senior officials in the Finance Ministry, who ultimately agreed that the contract would be implemented without salary hikes being cut.
“I am glad we reached an agreement with Treasury officials,” Eidelman said. A third increase will be implemented in 2014, as scheduled, he added.
“They agreed that all the the clauses in the agreement will be carried out on time. We are part of Israeli society, so we will participate in the economic effort, but the second increment we were promised will be fully implemented,” Eidelman said.
As a result of the agreement, “public-sector physicians will earn more. This is a mandatory step to strengthen the public medical system.
“We didn’t allow the agreement to be watered down by the current economic measures,” said Eidelman.
The IMA agreed that though doctors’ per diem vacation pay in 2013 and 2014 would be cut by 48.2 percent, the reduction will not influence the calculation of provident fund allowances or pensions. In addition, the reduction will have no effect on overtime calculations. Beginning in 2015, doctors will be eligible for an increase in provident fund allowances, Eidelman said.