2nd April 2023, Letchimi Devi (After months, finally allocated time to write. A press statement for the Goverment Hospital Support Workers Union)
The Hospital Support Services Union or in full Private Support Service Employees Union in Government Hospitals & Government Departments in Peninsula Malaysia (KPSHK) would like to state our profound solidarity with the Hospital Contract Doctors demand for permanent position of the contract doctors, increase in basic salary, increase the rate for the on call, reduce on call work hours and to solve shortage of medical officers and specialists.
We also totally agree with the viewpoint that the patients, hospital contract doctors and the support contract service workers should not be punished for the failure of government policies. Job security is a constitutional right and should be protected at all cost.
Today we understand the Contract Doctors plight on the issue of fair wages and social security as well as the limited career advancement because we face the similar predicaments.
Government introduced privatisation in 1983 under Prime Minister Tun Mahathir. Under the Seventh Malaysia Plan (1996 -2000), government support services systems such as clinical waste, cleaning, maintenance, and security have been outsourced to private contractors. The policy was intended to reduce government expenditures and to improve the quality-of-service delivery. Meanwhile the contract system in hiring of health workers was introduced in 2016 because there were too many private medical colleges that led to oversupply of medical graduates. Many experienced doctors and staff also moved to private sector for better income. Privatisation is gradually killing the public health care sector! After four decades of privatisation, we have not met the ratio 1:400 doctor to patients in public healthcare as per the Health Ministry’s target.
Health care is a human rights and cannot be privatised.
The drawbacks from privatisation include labour and human rights violations! In the government support service, many local workers are quitting their job due to low pay, low benefits and heavy workload. The employers (generally GLCs and their sub-contractors) are opting to hire foreign workers. The ‘Mogok Doctor Malaysia’ stating almost the same issue – mass resignation. Does that mean, government will opt to bring expats (to work at lower rate and long hours) to replace local doctors?
The Coalition against the Privatization of Health Services (Gabungan Membantah Penswastaan Perkhidmatan Kesihatan or CAPHS), has on numerous times highlighted the need to build back our public health care because 30% specialists in the government sector serving 70% of hospital admissions throughout Malaysia. Private Hospital Support Services Union (KPSHK), for several years has demanded that the Union to be recognised by the employer, who is a GLC – government link company, to recognize and respect Collective Agreement signed on 23 October 2019. Organised groups of hospital contract workers are demanding fair treatment and give them permanent job.
Yet, the government of the day choose to rebuttal by stating that it will cost them RM10 billion a year to absorb 4,000 contract health workers without any explanation or cost breakdown. Another great failure of the privatisation policy is the amount of wastage because of corruption, cronyism and political patronage. Malaysia loses RM1 trillion within 25 years due to corruption, according to Emir Research.
We wish to state our support and solidarity to the contract doctors that intend to go on a peaceful resistance, to express their dissatisfaction over the years of discrimination, bullying and mistreatment they experienced. These Doctors are our ally who play an important service to health of our nation.
Reference:
1. Sinar Daily, by DIANA AZIS https://www.sinardaily.my/article/180445/malaysia/national/malaysia-loses-rm1-trillion-within-25-years-due-to-corruption
2. Chan Chee-Khoon: The Malaysian health system in transition: The ambiguity of public and private
https://www.municipalservicesproject.org/publications/OccasionalPaper26_Chan_Malaysian_health_system_in_transition_Aug2014.pdf
3. JPKK: STUDY ON DIRECT EMPLOYMENT OF CONTRACT WORKERS IN GOVERNMENT AGENCIES: https://jpkk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Research-Report.pdf
Anjung Kiri 