Consultations on a new employment conditions scheme for medical specialists have come to a standstill due to the stalled negotiations on a new hospital collective agreement. The Federation of Medical Specialists (FMS) and the National Association of Doctors in Employment (LAD) have informed the Dutch Association of Hospitals (NVZ) that they do not want to discuss this further until there is more clarity about that collective labor agreement. That moment seems far away, now that hospitals are taking actions via Sunday services.
strike day
Negotiations on a new hospital collective agreement have stalled to such an extent that the unions are taking action. This Tuesday, about fifty hospitals have already indicated that they will only provide emergency care on a strike day in mid-March. This hospital collective labor agreement includes about 2500 LAD members (including nursing home residents, medical doctors and A&E doctors). However, the employment conditions of medical specialists employed by general hospitals are laid down in the Employment Conditions Regulations for Medical Specialists (AMS). This applies to approximately six thousand doctors.
Update
New hospital collective agreements normally always lead to an update of that AMS. Talks had started in the autumn between the FMS and LAD and the NVZ about such an update; this is still in response to the previous hospital collective agreement, which has now expired. In addition, the FMS and LAD wanted to focus on better compliance with the AMS on various points, such as maximum working hours and night shifts.
More clarity needed
According to the two doctors’ organizations, more clarity is needed about the collective labor agreement for such consultations, because it serves as the basis for the AMS. “We want to know what the starting point is when it comes to salary, healthy and safe working and the impact of this on medical specialists,” the two organizations said in an explanation.
The NVZ calls the collective action taken by the trade unions ‘extremely disproportionate’.
