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– This has been a very demanding mediation. We have done our best to find a possible solution, but unfortunately we could not agree with KS on an outcome, says President Marit Hermansen of the Norwegian Medical Association.
The rift between the Norwegian Medical Association / Akademikerne and KS may affect municipal emergency services across the country in the coming weeks.
Excessive workload
Academics have not yet announced how many they will eliminate in a first strike, so a strike can only start in at least four days in accordance with the duty to notify. The strike is scheduled for October 26.
The medical association believes that the workload of GPs becomes too great when emergency services reach the peak of the normal working day and without the doctor being able to set limits on how many shifts can be imposed.
KS responds that the whole system is based on GPs going to the ER and that it would have jeopardized the entire ER scheme if the doctors themselves could decide how much to go to the ER.
High follow the situation
Health Minister Bent Høie emphasizes that he is not a party to the conflict.
– I follow the situation and I am concerned if there is a strike. Then the Norwegian Board of Health is tasked with assessing whether a strike may pose a risk to life and health, Høie tells NRK.
Høie says that emergency room service is always important, but that it is very important in the situation the country is in now.
– But strikes are a legal tool, also for health professionals, says Høie.
Agreement in the municipal settlement
Mediation was the only one left in the municipal settlement after the Academics as the only association broke up negotiations in September.
KS and the negotiating association Akademikerne kommune accepted the Ombudsman’s proposal for a solution, while the Norwegian Medical Association, which is part of Akademikerne, rejected the proposal.
Each of the academic member associations must take a position on the outcome of the mediation before October 23, while the Norwegian Medical Association is planning a strike from October 26.
– It is regrettable and disappointing that the Norwegian Medical Association is not part of the solution, says working life director Tor Arne Gangsø, who is KS’s negotiations manager.
