Doctors’ Strike Will Hit Harder In 2015 - Unless negotiations succeed in the meantime, says Chair of MDs' Union

Unless negotiations succeed in the meantime, says Chair of MDs' Union

Representatives of the Medical Doctors’s Union (LÍ) met with the State’s negotiation committee on Tuesday, at the Public Mediator’s office. At the meeting, LÍ’s spokespeople announced their plans for strikes in 2015, which members of the Union will vote on next week. This was reported by mbl.is.

Speaking with mbl.is, Þorbjörn Jónsson, LÍ’s Chair, said that any strike actions in the new year would hit harder than what has been witnessed during the last month, and that doctors would strike for four days a week. There would be no breaks from the strike action. Þorbjörn said that according to current plans, next year’s strike will last for three months, if negotiations are not concluded in the meantime.

Doctors at State hospitals started their strike actions a month ago, on the midnight of October 27. The hospitals involved are Landspítalinn, the State’s central hospital complex, based in Reykjavík, and Akureyri’s Hospital in the north of the country. Doctors have organised themselves in four groups, one of which strikes at a time for two days in a week. A week ago, RÚV reported that 700 operations had been postponed due to the strike. Waiting lists are already supposed to lengthen for a while.

Just over a week ago, on November 17, doctors working at public clinics, as well as MDs at the gynaecology and pediatric departments of Landspítalinn, started their strike action.