Members of the Doctor's Syndicate hold a press conference on 5 January 2013. (DNE/ Hend Tarek) Verbal altercations broke out at the Doctor's Syndicate during a press conference. The conference was held in response to a draft of the labour which was published on the website of the Ministry of Health. Khairy Abdel-Dayem, the chairman of the Doctors' Syndicate said there are positive aspects to the draft, as well as things that are missing. He said that the syndicate has its opinions and that they are hoping that they will be taken into consideration. Abdel-Dayem added that he was hoping that the draft would first be discussed with syndicate representatives before it got published by the ministry. “This [draft] is not what we agreed on," he said. Ahmed Hussein, one of the leaders of the doctors' partial strike, which ended last month, was displeased with the way the law was published by the ministry: “It is not right that the syndicates are represented in the committee to draft the law and we still do not have a draft of the law… we are discussing criticisms about something published on a website." Mona Mina, a board member of the syndicate, got into a disagreement with some of the speakers at the conference when she compared the draft published by the ministry with another draft claimed to have been sent from the ministry to the health committee in the Shura Council. “It is forged," cried one of the speakers, asking Mina to only discuss the draft published by the ministry. The labour law was initially completed on 5 May and handed to the People's Assembly before it was dissolved. After it was handed to the legislative body, meetings were held between representatives of the all seven syndicates, which work in the field of medical care. Amendments were made so that it represents all people who work in the field of medicine. A committee was then formed of representative from all seven syndicates and the ministries of health and finance, as well as other ministries.. One of the representatives of the Doctors' Syndicate in the committee, Abdel-Fatah Rezq, started his speech at the conference by making it clear that the law is yet to be passed and that the Shura Council is the only body that can pass the law. He highlighted several positive aspects, from his point of view, as well as negative ones. Rezq alleged the law would be passed over two or three phases at the most and that the Ministry of Finance is being pressured so that EGP 5bn are paid as part of the first phase of the law. Mina said that the draft divides the workers into categories but the categories are not clearly defined, and do not clearly state how much workers in each category make. The law was among the top demands of the doctors' partial strike. It organises administrative, technical and financial matters for everyone who works in the field of medicine, not just doctors. The cadre law was initially completed on 5 May, 2012 by board members of the union, Lofty said. “We handed it to the People's Assembly, before it was dissolved." The law organizes administrative, technical, and financial affairs for people working in the field of medicine, including doctors. After it was handed to the legislative body, according to Lofty, meetings were held between representatives of other medical unions and amendments were made to the bill to include all workers in the field of medicine. A new draft was released on 19 May, 2012. Lotfy alleged this draft was the one handed by Al-Wasat Party to the Shura Council. “It has the party on it….It even includes the spelling mistakes," he said. Additional amendments were made to the draft, he said, after meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Health and four other ministries. “We at the union feel that this is an individual act by one of the members of the party," Lofty claimed. Creating a legal cadre for medical professionals has been one of the three primary demands of the doctors' strike, which started 1 October and ended 21 December with the stipulation of passing the cadre law. The cadre law was initially completed on 5 May, 2012 by board members of the union, Lofty said. “We handed it to the People's Assembly, before it was dissolved." The law organizes administrative, technical, and financial affairs for people working in the field of medicine, including doctors. After it was handed to the legislative body, according to Lofty, meetings were held between representatives of other medical unions and amendments were made to the bill to include all workers in the field of medicine. A new draft was released on 19 May, 2012. Lotfy alleged this draft was the one handed by Al-Wasat Party to the Shura Council. “It has the party on it….It even includes the spelling mistakes," he said. Additional amendments were made to the draft, he said, after meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Health and four other ministries. “We at the union feel that this is an individual act by one of the members of the party," Lofty claimed. Creating a legal cadre for medical professionals has been one of the three primary demands of the doctors' strike, which started 1 October and ended 21 December with the stipulation of passing the cadre law. hed and the amendments made… This complicates matters," he said. The cadre law was initially completed on 5 May, 2012 by board members of the union, Lofty said. “We handed it to the People's Assembly, before it was dissolved." The law organizes administrative, technical, and financial affairs for people working in the field of medicine, including doctors. After it was handed to the legislative body, according to Lofty, meetings were held between representatives of other medical unions and amendments were made to the bill to include all workers in the field of medicine. A new draft was released on 19 May, 2012. Lotfy alleged this draft was the one handed by Al-Wasat Party to the Shura Council. “It has the party on it….It even includes the spelling mistakes," he said. Additional amendments were made to the draft, he said, after meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Health and four other ministries. “We at the union feel that this is an individual act by one of the members of the party," Lofty claimed. Creating a legal cadre for medical professionals has been one of the three primary demands of the doctors' partial strike, which started 1 October and ended 21 December with the stipulation of passing the cadre law.
