Medical staff to rally for civil servant jobs
Seven groups of medical personnel plan to rally on Friday to renew their demand that the Public Health Ministry find them jobs in the civil service.
The groups — physical therapists, medical technicians, radiologists, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists, cardiothoracic experts, and speech language experts — plan to converge on the ministry and ask about progress in their demands for vacancies in the bureaucracy.
The move comes after the the ministry agreed to fill vacancies in the civil service for 8,792 nurses within the next three years so workers now on temporary contracts can enjoy better career prospects, improved status and greater benefits.
The groups formally submitted their demand to the public health permanent secretary on May 15 but have not heard from him since.
Somkid Puenram, a representative of the groups, said he shared the anxiety of group members who had worked hard to improve public health. However, they felt that far too few vacancies have been approved.
“We feel sorry and disappointed with the way the vacancies have been distributed for us,” he said.
The ministry also has been unable to solve the vacancy allocation problems to the groups’ satisfaction so far, he added.
Last year, Mr Somkid said only 171 positions were reserved for personnel across the seven groups with a large backlog of contract workers waiting in line to be given the vacancies.
“This is far from acceptable and it doesn’t feel at all fair for us. We work no less hard than those who are state officials,” said Mr Somkid, also president of the Community Physical Therapists Association, adding the vacancy problem has demoralised the personnel.
Personnel in the seven groups had also encountered work limitations and inadequate resources in state-run medical facilities, he said.
The groups’ call was made after the cabinet earlier decided to upgrade the status of contract nurses to permanent civil servants over the next three years.
The move kept many nurses from resigning in protest.