After weeks of trading rhetorical jabs at each other through the media and a series of selective strikes by doctors in public hospitals, the Public Health Minister and the directorate of the Dominican Medical Association (AMD) finally negotiated face-to-face again yesterday. Minister Altagracia Guzm?n Marcelino paid a surprise visit to AMD’s offices to try to get the interchange between the Ministry (SESPAS) and AMD going again. The two sides discussed five points of contention: (1) sanctions used by SESPAS against doctors; (2) SESPAS’ demand for a written service contract with doctors serving in public hospitals; (3) the payment of the government’s debt to the doctors’ medical insurance fund; (4) AMD’s demand for SESPAS to rehire doctors recently fired by the latter; (5) AMD’s demand for a large salary hike. After much discussion, it was agreed that SESPAS would (1) pay immediately RD$2 million of the RD$8 million the government owes to the doctors’ health insurance plan; (2) deliver severance checks to those doctors recently let go from public hospitals; (3) rehire five doctors fired in Montecristi. No agreement was reached on the contract and raise questions, but it was agreed to discuss them again in a meeting to be held Monday, April 5th, after the Holy Week holidays. AMD in turn agreed to halt its program of protests and work stoppages until after the April 5th meeting.
