Health ministry to make most jobs permanent
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In a bid to calm a planned protest by 17,000 contract nurses who are demanding permanent jobs, the Public Health Ministry yesterday agreed in principle to enlist most of 30,188 contract positions in 21 fields of professions in the civil service over a thr
However, Public Health Minister Pradit Sinthawanarong did not specify whether all the 17,000 nurses would be enlisted unconditionally before the year’s end as they demanded, otherwise they would launch the three-day strike starting January 1.
No response from nurses
The leaders of the 17,000 nurses did not make a public statement in response to the ministry’s decision nor the minister’s statement.
In the three-year period starting next year, 22,641 positions in 21 professions would be employed as ministry officials, while 7,547 others would still be contract workers, Pradit said in yesterday’s meeting.
It was attended by members of regulatory bodies representing nurses, doctors and medical technicians apart from ministry leadership and senior officials.
The decision has been forwarded to the Bureau of Budget and the Finance Ministry.
The first lot to be enlisted next year are for 10,494 positions, who had been hired as contract workers between 2006 and 2008, including 2,947 positions for doctors, dentists and pharmacists graduating from government universities and required to repay tutorial fees through mandatory services at government hospitals.
The enlistment of all 10,494 positions would be done by January 1 if the Cabinet endorsed the ministry’s decision in a meeting on December 18.
Those to be selected in the first lot need to achieve good performance evaluation ratings along with any required certificates in their line of work. They will be entitled to higher welfare benefits or slightly lower to those granted to government officials.
There are 320,000 staffers with the Public Health Ministry working in 21 professions, 180,000 of whom are government officials and 140,000 others are contract workers.
Permanent secretary Narong Sahamethaphat vowed to treat them fairly.
