KUALA LUMPUR: The government has agreed to provide additional overtime allowances for those working at public health clinics and emergency departments who are instructed to serve after their working hours.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the decision also includes the expansion of working hours consisting of weekly days off for six public health clinics or klinik kesihatan.
"The six klinik kesihatan were part of the pioneer project to reduce long waiting times and crowds at government hospitals.
"The current allowances does not include those working at klinik kesihatan and emergency departments.
"I have instructed the Public Service Department and Finance Ministry to review the allowance so that it can be distributed to all and not just medical officers," he told the Lower House during the Prime Minister Question Time today.
Anwar was responding to a supplementary question by Datuk Seri Wilfred Madius Tangau (Pakatan Harapan-Tuaran) if the government was looking to increase the on-call allowances for contract doctors which is currently at RM9 per hour.
The Finance Minister said the current on-call allowances for the contract doctors was appropriate with the rate of working hours compared with the overtime allowances received in other services.
In a similar matter, Anwar also assured he would take appropriate measures if there were contract medical assistants facing termination at work.
The Tambun lawmaker was replying to an additional question by Bakri Jamaluddin (Perikatan Nasional-Tangga Batu) on the fate of 800 contract medical assistants from private colleges who were hired to work at public hospitals during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"Our records showed there are no contract medical assistants being terminated or have their contract ended unless it is in certain cases.
"I assure you that if there are contracts terminated for no reason, we will take action to ensure that they can work again.
"It is also possible that they (contract medical assistants) chose to resign and join the private sector and that is allowed,"he said.
