Canadian doctors protest salary increases

More than 500 doctors and over 150 medical students in Canada signed an open letter protesting their salary increases, reports CNBC.

Фото: Depositphotos

“We Quebec doctors who believe in a strong social system are opposed to the recent wage increases agreed with our medical federations,” the letter says.

The doctors said that they were offended by the fact that they would be paid higher wages due to the low wages of nurses and the high cost of medical services for patients.

“These increases are especially shocking in the light of the fact that our nurses, clerks and other specialists face very difficult working conditions and our patients do not have access to necessary services due to a sharp reduction in regional funding and centralization of power in the Ministry of Health,” says a letter.

“The only thing that seems immune to cuts is our salary,” the doctors concluded.

Canada has a public health system that, according to the government’s website, provides "universality of medical services provided on the basis of need, not ability to pay."

546 doctors and 162 medical students want money used to raise their salaries to be returned to the system to make it more efficient.

“We believe that there is a way to reallocate the resources of the Québec health system so as to promote public health and meet the needs of patients. We, the doctors of Quebec, ask that the wage increases provided to doctors be canceled and that the system’s resources be better distributed to the benefit of health care workers and the provision of medical services to decent people of Quebec, ”the message of the doctors says.

According to the Canadian Institute of Health Information for September 2017, an average Canadian doctor is paid $ 260 924 (Canadian 339 000), while the surgeon’s salary is $ 354 915 (Canadian 461 000).

According to the Canadian Medical School Association, the cost of medical schooling in the country is subsidized by the provincial governments. The cost varies depending on whether the student is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or foreign student, and the level of each particular school. According to the Canadian Medical Faculties Association, for Canadian citizens or permanent residents, fees for the first year of medical school range from $ 2 567 (3 344 Canadian dollars) to $ 20 064 (26 056 Canadian dollars).

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