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More than 500 doctors in Canada sign public letter in protest over own pay rises

Médecins Québécois pour le Régime Public raise concerns they would receive an increase in salaries while patients and nurses struggle

Wednesday 07 March 2018 21:07 GMT
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The group had previously published a letter opposing pay rises for specialist doctors
The group had previously published a letter opposing pay rises for specialist doctors (iStock)

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More than 500 doctors and 150 medial students have signed a public letter in protest over their own pay rises.

The group, known as Médecins Québécois pour le Régime Public (MQRP), from Canada, have raised concerns that they would receive an increase in their salaries while patients and nurses are struggling.

Like the UK, Canada has a public health system which provides coverage to all who need it.

The doctors and medical students who have signed the letter have called on raises to be given to the areas of the health service that need it most.

“We, Quebec doctors who believe in a strong public system, oppose the recent salary increases negotiated by our medical federations”, the letter says, according to CNBC.

“These increases are all the more shocking because our nurses, clerks and other professionals face very difficult working conditions, while our patients live with the lack of access to required services because of the drastic cuts in recent years and the centralization of power in the Ministry of Health.

“The only thing that seems to be immune to the cuts is our remuneration”, the letter adds.

MQRP had previously published a letter opposing pay rises for specialist doctors.

At the time they said the increase was “indecent.”

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