Turkish Medical Association raises 10 urgent demands ahead of 2-day strike in mid-March

* Photo: TTB

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Ahead of their "Great Strike (Duty)" on March 14-15, 2022 as part of their "Our Word, Our Labor" program, the Turkish Medical Association (TTB) and medical chambers shared their 10 urgent demands with the public at a press conference yesterday (March 1).

The press conference held at the İstanbul Medical Chamber (İTO) Sevinç Özgüner Conference Hall was attended by TTB Central Council Chair Prof. Şebnem Korur Fincancı, İTO Chair Prof. Pınar Saip and İTO Secretary General Prof. Osman Küçükosmanoğlu.

The executives of the following medical chambers also attended the conference via video conference: Adana, Adıyaman, Ankara, Antalya, Aydın, Balıkesir, Bolu-Düzce, Bursa, Çanakkale, Burdur-Isparta, Denizli, Diyarbakır, Eskişehir-Bilecik, Gaziantep-Kilis, Hatay, İzmir, Kocaeli, Mersin, Muğla, Samsun, Şanlıurfa, Tekirdağ, Van-Hakkari and Zonguldak.

'We keep struggling for our rights'

Taking the floor at the press conference, TTB Chair Korur Fincancı recalled that the TTB has long been in a process of protests for their rights.

"We have struggled for our rights for years and we keep on struggling. We walk to the future, deriving our strength from the past," she said.

On this occasion, Prof. Korur Fincancı announced that if physicians encounter any problems during their strike protests, they may apply to the TTB and medical chambers. She underlined that society should also be a part of this struggle for rights waged by healthcare workers.

The chairs of medical chambers also spoke at the press conference, reiterating that they will continue struggling for both the rights of healthcare workers and the right to healthcare of the people.

10 urgent demands of physicians

Afterwards, İstanbul Medical Chamber Chair Prof. Pınar Saip listed the 10 urgent demands of physicians as follows:

"The Law Against Violence in Healthcare, which the TTB recommended, must be enacted immediately. Penalties should be increased above release pending trial and deferment of the pronouncement of the verdict.

"The basic wage (salary+fixed additional pay) of newly appointed practicing and assistant physicians at state hospitals must be at least twice the poverty line; it must be at least 2.5 times the poverty line for specialists. The fixed additional pays must be made from the general budget.

CLICK - Poverty line is almost 4 times the minimum wage

"The social security premiums of the physicians in the private health sector must be paid by their institutions based on the 'premium payment ceiling'. Their wages must be at least 2.5 times the poverty line.

"The salaries of family physicians must be increased to at least twice the poverty line. The buildings of family health centers must be constructed by the public and their equipment must be afforded by the state with the same standards. All related costs must be met by the Health Ministry; the Family Medicine Penalty Regulation must be withdrawn.

"The wages of workplace physicians working at Joint Health and Safety Units (OSGB) must be paid based on the minimum wage set by the TTB.

"Regardless of whether they are affiliated with the Retirement Fund of Civil Servants, the Social Security Institution or the Social Security Organization for Artisans and the Self-Employed, the pensions of all retired physicians must be increased to 15,000 TRY for practicing physicians and a minimum of 18,000 TRY for specialists (on the basis of 25-year retirement).

"Our working environments and conditions must be improved; all physicians, primarily assistant physicians, must be given the right to take the next day off without the shift payment cut after their shift. The wages of intern physicians must be increased to at least the minimum wage.

"COVID-19 must be recognized as an occupational disease without a 'causal link', a depreciation of 120 days must be the case for every year worked during the pandemic, the additional indicator must be 7,200 for physicians.

"Legal arrangements must be introduced to prevent the practices that sentence physicians to pay damages that they cannot pay in court cases over malpractice caused by the healthcare system and institutional problems.

"The imposition of 5-minute medical examination, which aggrieves both physicians and patients, becomes a source of violence against physicians and jeopardizes public health, must be dropped; the appointments of patients must be rearranged as 20 minutes for each patient." (AS/SD)