KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 24 — Doctors in the public service succeeded in pushing the government to scrap the Waktu Berkerja Berlainan (WBB) pilot project, after more than a week of sustained backlash.
Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad announced the decision made by a Cabinet meeting earlier today; his three-paragraph statement did not mention doctors’ on-call allowance at all.
“After taking into account all considerations, the Cabinet has decided to cancel the WBB pilot project to give way to a more in-depth and comprehensive study,” Dzulkefly said.
He added that the Ministry of Health (MOH) has set up a special committee that will be chaired by former Health director-general Dr Abu Bakar Suleiman, who is also clinical advisor to the health minister and the MOH.
“The terms of reference of this committee are related to the empowerment of health service delivery to the people and the scheduling of work hours.
“The MOH will continue efforts to create a safe and just working environment for all, especially health care workers.”
CodeBlue broke the story on WBB nine days ago last January 15, citing a January 10 letter from MOH medical development division director Dr Mohd Azman Yacob on a planned February 1 pilot of the shift system for medical and dental officers, as well as specialists, in select units across seven government hospitals.
Doctors’ groups – including Hartal Doktor Kontrak, MedTweetMY, and the Malaysian Medical Association – opposed the WBB pilot project, criticising the “exploitative” and “inhumane” 18-hour weekday shifts (3pm-9am) that wouldn’t be eligible for on-call allowance claims.
They also said a shift system would not be able to be implemented due to severe manpower shortages, besides slamming the injustice of tying the on-call allowance increment (an additional RM55 to RM65 per shift for medical officers and specialists respectively) to WBB (only for weekend calls).
Over the past week, at least eight elected representatives and leaders from political parties on both sides of the divide – except for Amanah, MIC, and Borneo parties – condemned WBB, including Umno Youth and Barisan Nasional (BN) Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh and PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden.
Besides numerous anti-WBB letters to the editor to CodeBlue, including calls for a strike, doctors slammed the proposed pilot of the shift system widely on Facebook, posting multiple memes.
Dzulkefly told a press conference last Tuesday that it was up to the Medical Advisory & Action Committee (MAAC) to decide whether to proceed with piloting WBB, whether on February 1 or any other date, as it has been given the authority to make such a decision for an “internal matter” that had “nothing to do with me.”
He also told reporters then that today’s Cabinet meeting would discuss expanding the on-call allowance increment to all doctors, regardless of whether they’re in the WBB system or not.
