Medical groups unite to press for more civil-servant positions
Seven groups that represent medical workers have joined forces to pressure the government to increase civil-servant positions for their members.
They submitted the petition to the Public Health Ministry and the prime minister through the government’s complaint-receiving centre yesterday. The move followed nurses’ successful efforts in their demand for civil-servant status.
These seven groups represent medical technicians, physical therapists, radiologic technologists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, cardio thoracic technologists, and speech-language pathologists.
“We feel it’s unfair for many of us to have had to work as daily-paid workers, while in fact we work as hard as civil servants,” said Somkid Pheunram, president of the Physical Therapy for Community Association of Thailand.
He said the ministry last year recruited just 171 physical therapists as civil servants.
“We have worked hard for five years already and our morale has been dwindling,” Somkid said.
He said the low number of civil-servant positions approved by the ministry had made physical therapists feel like their hard work is unappreciated and their value ignored.
Somkid said members of the six other medical professions had also suffered the same fate.
According to him, about 3,300 medical technicians, physical therapists, radiologic technologists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, cardio thoracic technologists, and speech-language pathologists have been working at state hospitals since 2011 without civil-servant status. Of them, 51 are daily-paid workers.
Due to constraints, the ministry has hired many medical workers, including nurses and members of these other professions, as employees or temporary employees. Their welfare and job security are not the same as civil servants in the same positions, which has caused dissatisfaction.
After the meeting with Somkid yesterday, Public Health Ministry’s permanent secretary Dr Sopon Mekton promised to give 308 civil-servant positions to members of the seven less-known medical professions this year.
Sopon added that his ministry would also raise the groups concerns with the committee governing the government’s workforce. He said his ministry would try to ensure that members of these groups receive better welfare and employment status.
“For example, we may offer better pay and educational opportunities. We will try to ensure they enjoy similar welfare as their peers who work as civil servants,” he added.