Some doctors say they'll join medical residents in solidarity; Health Ministry warns against violating injunction.
By JPOST.COM STAFF, JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHFor the second day in a row, some 250 medical residents were expected to stay home from work Tuesday, leaving public hospitals throughout the country understaffed. A number of doctors said they would join the residents in solidarity with their labor dispute.After 245 medical residents didn’t show up for work Monday morning, the Health Ministry warned they were acting “in contempt of court.”RELATED:Health Ministry looks to get residents back to work Residents appeal to High Court after talks fail The majority of the residents were from the larger and economically stronger hospitals in the country – primarily Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center, Meir Medical Center in Kfar Saba and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.
The hospitals were not warned in advance of the initial walkout on Monday.The Health Ministry on Monday instructed hospital directors to tell medical residents that if they did not coordinate their absences with their superiors that they were violating hospital rules and showing contempt of the National Labor Court, which had instructed them to return to work.Arbel members took action before the High Court of Justice has ruled on its request by members to resign in protest against the various courts’ refusal to let them resign en masse. The ministry noted negotiations with the Treasury are the “only solution” to existing disputes.