Doctors end strike

By Kamala Emanuel

Junior doctors returned to work in NSW hospitals on March 19 as a precondition to negotiations between their union, the Public Services Association, and federal health minister Michael Wooldridge.

After a week-long strike, Wooldridge agreed to negotiations, something he had been unwilling to do during seven months of lobbying and short-term stoppages.

The framework for the negotiations will be the "Blueprint" document prepared by the NSW branch of the AMA and the PSA. The document summarises the problems of the Australian medical work force, challenges the misconceptions being circulated by the minister, criticises the provider number restrictions and puts forward some solutions.

Although the document can be criticised for its proposal to "reduce the number of overseas trained doctors entering the system", it canvasses a number of important issues that Wooldridge's provider number legislation ignores or exacerbates.

A delegates' meeting on March 24 will discuss the results of the negotiations. The strength of the campaign in NSW has been the participation and education of members about the issues, and the recognition that provider number cuts represent a cut in medical service provision to the community as a whole.

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