Earlier this month, doctors in Canada made headlines around the world for protesting against an increase in salary. An agreement with the Quebec government relating to monies owed to medical specialists under a 2007 deal meant that they had no choice but to now increase salaries following negotiations with the Quebec Federation of Medical Specialties.
The amount of compensation negotiated was $480 million, to be divided among doctors according to their specialty and spread over four years. Additionally medical specialists will get an annual increase of 5.2 percent under the agreement for the next five years.
Canadian Institute for Health Information data shows that medical specialists in Quebec make just over $403,000 a year on average. At the beginning of the year specialists in Quebec were already earning on average $36,000 more than those in the neighbouring province of Ontario, despite the cost of living in Quebec being lower than that of living in Ontario.
The petition, created by a group representing doctors and medical students, opposed the pay increase following budget cuts across other areas of health in recent years and an increased workload for nurses due to lack of staff. The group stated they were also concerned about the difficult working conditions faced by nurses, health support staff and other health professionals. According to the group’s website, the petition has been signed by 282 general practitioners, 237 specialists, 199 resident medical doctors and 201 medical students.
The signatories to the petition believe there is a way to redistribute the resources among the healthcare system in Quebec to better promote the health of the population and meet the needs of patients. The petition requested that the salary increases be cancelled and that the resources be distributed accordingly.
Deal defended by Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists
The Quebec Federation of Medical Specialists, which negotiated the deal with the Quebec government, has received criticism for the pay demands with many believing it will cause cuts in other areas of healthcare and that the pay increases are out of proportion with other healthcare workers. However the Federation argues that the pay deal simply honours a previous agreement. They also argue that it will save the government $3.5 billion over the next five years as a result of an agreement to share the cost of hiring additional specialists.
The Federation further states that medical specialists in Quebec have been required to make a number of pay concessions in order for the government to agree to improve working conditions.