New agreements guarantee better medical working conditions in the Region, highlights Mónica Seidi - Communication

Secretaria Regional da Saúde e Segurança Social

Two new Collective Labour Agreements were signed today between the Regional Secretariat for Health and Social Security, the Regional Secretariat for Finance, Planning and Public Administration, the Independent Doctors‘ Union and the Medical Union-South Region.

One of the agreements concerns Individual Labour Contracts of the Santo Espírito Hospital in Angra do Heroísmo, the Horta Hospital and the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada.

The second relates to Civil Service Employment Contracts for hospitals, the 13 island health units in the Region and the Azores Oncology Centre (COA).

The Secretary for Health and Social Security, Mónica Seidi, recalls that "the realities of hospitals, health units and the AOC are not the same, so it was essential to take account of these differences."

"The agreements signed today are the culmination of debates and negotiations to rectify situations that had not changed since 2020 when the 2012 agreements were updated. I congratulate all those involved for conducting this process with heightened responsibility," she stressed at a session in Angra do Heroísmo.

She also pointed out that the work is not over, although this milestone is crucial.

"We value medical careers with individual employment contracts that can now have their length of service counted retroactively under Regional Legislative Decree 8/2024. We value the importance of training by allocating four more days for this purpose. We also compensate workers who go on holiday in the first half of the year with one extra day for every 10 years of service," she said.

The amendments signed today include more time for the guidance of medical interns and the possibility of continuous working hours schedules for pregnant women. Mónica Seidi noted that these changes "once again confirm that the Regional Government is committed to improving the medical work in the Region and this cannot be done through financial incentives alone."