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At a time when efforts are still underway to contain the drop in GDP, keep output levels healthy and maintain employment wherever possible, the civil servants’ union PASYDY has once again showed how irrelevant it is to the reality when it threatens to strike against any measures to raise the retirement age for government doctors to 68.
The excuse given by the union, whose doctor members will receive their 13th salary within the first quarter of the new year – while others in the private sector have not seen such a bonus for at least 3-4 years – is that raising the retirement age will further hamper “the already acute problem of youth unemployment”. Another pathetic justification for potential strike action at the hospitals once again, is the status of contract workers which may be lifted if the autonomy of hospitals goes ahead after all.
This is obviously a scaremongering tactic deployed by the union because it does not say how many young doctors remain unemployed (a highly unlikely scenario in the Cypriot market), nor what the rate of growth will be in the demand for new/young doctors with the reform of the public health sector.
The union also fears that this will cause a chain effect in all public sectors and if one sector is imposed the change, then others will follow, meaning an end to “early” retirements at 65, which is nowadays considered not too far off the performance peak of normal workers.
On the other hand, no one talks of the fact that doctors in the private sector continue to practise well beyond their 70th year, with only delicate matters such as surgeries and interventions reduced due to the insurance risk being higher. Also, what government doctors fear most is that if they retire at 68 they will not have enough years to practice in the private sector, as many do today.
The solution is very simple. With the autonomy of the hospitals, the employment criteria should also be raised whereby hiring in the public health sector should become competitive once again. Also, what the unions do not realise is that they are now forcing the hand of the Minister of Health to (hopefully) introduce the National Health Scheme as soon as possible, without being influenced by the vote-dependant MPs who cower at any threat from barking unions.
Cyprus needs a good and efficient public health sector where all will benefit, and not just those of the privileged class of civil servants and trade unions.
