A Health Ministry town hall session today reportedly turned into a “disastrous” event, with healthcare workers calling for heads to roll over a plan to introduce a new shift work system called “Waktu Bekerja Berlainan” (WBB).
According to health news portal CodeBlue, the session - held physically at the ministry’s premises in Putrajaya and over the Zoom online platform - saw many sharing their anger and frustration with the plan.
Some attendees also reportedly demanded the resignations of Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad and Health director-general Dr Muhammad Radzi Abu Hassan, while others called for a strike.
“YBMK (minister), wait for us to launch a mass strike,” a participant reportedly wrote on the Zoom meeting chatbox.
According to CodeBlue, healthcare workers complained about pay cuts that will result from the new system and its alleged inflexibility. There were also concerns raised over WBB’s impact on their work-life balance.
The town hall session was held just days after a Health Ministry circular was leaked, announcing the implementation of WBB’s first phase beginning Feb 1.
According to news reports, among the changes under WBB include discontinuing doctor allowance for working nights during weekdays and treating the graveyard shift as part of the normal 45-hour work week.
Contract doctor group Hartal Doktor Kontrak (HDK) has condemned the ministry over the plan, which it described as “exploitive and dangerous”.
“It takes away from healthcare workers their just compensation, increases mental and physical strain, and compromises patient care.
“Graveyard shifts are now treated as regular hours within a 45-hour workweek, ignoring the exhausting nature of these hours and the sacrifices made by the frontline workers.
“It reflects the top-down approach that is corroding trust and morale by introducing such a drastic change without consulting doctors, medical associations, or unions.
“This policy was devised by people in ivory towers who have no idea what healthcare workers face on the ground,” the group said in its statement on Thursday.
Still discussing
On the same day, Dzulkefly claimed that WBB was still in its proposal stage and had not reached him and the Civil Service Department for approval.
Meanwhile, in a press conference after the town hall session, the minister said top ministry officials will discuss WBB further during their three-day retreat which starts today.
He said the new system was formulated to reduce medical officer fatigue and increase the quality of their life and services to the people.
“This system aims at reducing the active on-call duties from a maximum of 33 hours to 18 hours for every shift, ensure that no medical officer has to work for over 24 hours consecutively, and reduce their working hours that now can reach up to 99 hours a week to a maximum of 72 hours,” he said. - Mkini
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