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Salary negotiations between the doctors in Bærum and the municipality have been interrupted. If the parties do not reach an agreement, it could end in a medical crisis for the municipality.
Germar Schreider is the representative of the Norwegian Medical Association and is now negotiating with the municipality of Bærum. Photo: TERJE BENDIKSBY
– I don’t know how many people will stop working. But the dissatisfaction is very great, says Germar Schneider.
He represents the Norwegian Medical Association in the ongoing negotiations with the municipality of Bærum. Doctors believe that their salary conditions during the pandemic are too bad. They demand a better deal.
On Friday afternoon, the municipality submitted a final offer.
Strategic grip
– It was a very good offer. The doctors refused, says the municipal director of health and social services in the municipality of Bærum, Grete Syrdal.
She says doctors who have resigned have a four-week notice period. Therefore, there is no serious danger of a shortage of doctors during the Christmas holidays. The municipality will now spend time figuring out what the next step will be.
– It may seem that the layoffs are a strategic reaction as we did not reach an agreement, says Syrdal.
The municipality believes that the distance between the parties is not so great, but that the salary requirement of doctors is too high.
Fewer patients, less paid
The doctors who have broken with the municipality are autonomous doctors. They are not municipal employees, but work on a reimbursement basis. The scheme is regulated through central agreements where the municipality is one of the parties.
This means that doctors are paid based on the number of patients they treat.
90 of these doctors work in the Asker and Bærum emergency services. 50 of them sent written notice of termination between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday, Schreider says. More will probably come.
– This is, first of all, a signal to the employer that the conditions of work and payment cannot be accepted. These doctors want to continue, but cannot accept the salary conditions that have been agreed for us at this time. It is important that this work is done in orderly conditions with dignified conditions, he says.
Schneider usually works as a chief physician in the emergency room in Asker and Bærum. Photo: Terje Bendiksby
Dissatisfaction has its roots in the current corona pandemic. Business doctors are paid by. patient. Now there are fewer of them, and because of infection control measures, it takes more time for each patient, Schneider believes.
– This has caused a significant salary reduction, he explains.
The amount of money doctors lose varies from person to person. But Schneider estimates a loss of 20 to 30 percent.
– In addition, we have a higher risk of own disease by patients with coronary heart disease, without having social security in the form of sickness benefits.
Will resume the dialogue
Now the parties will continue the work of finding a solution. Schneider hopes they will reach an agreement soon.
– Nobody is interested in the treatment of patients who suffer this labor conflict, he continues.
Syrdal says that the Bærum municipality will now seek to resume dialogue with the Norwegian Medical Association.
– Will the inhabitants of Bærum have a medical crisis in the new year if the municipality and the doctors do not reach an agreement?
– If all this is about to end and we do not reach an agreement, then we have a challenge. I think we will come to a solution.
It is not the first conflict
This is far from the first time the Norwegian Medical Association has set foot on the ground during the crown pandemic.
In October, several dozen doctors from municipalities across the country went on strike. Then they wanted restrictions on the amount of emergency room work that could be imposed on doctors.
After less than a week, the strike ended when the government intervened with a forced wage board.
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