Court to reach GP dispute decision on Tuesday

The drawn-out dispute between the GPs’ Association and the finance ministry cannot be processed in the same way as other urgent matters.

The Permanent Arbitration Court normally spends 72 hours on deciding matters of urgency. However, since the final sitting of the court has now been announced for Tuesday, it appears that the court has requested an extended deadline.

It is believed that since this case has no precedent, it will take longer to process. The court is also lacking a definition of ‘the labour market’ in this context, a definition which is deemed essential in this case.

The Permanent Arbitration Court has been asked to judge whether GPs are covered by the law regarding the Conciliatory Board, which determines the negotiation objectives when opposing parties in the labour market fail to agree on a contract renewal. The GPs say no; the Ministry of Finance says yes.

Regard it as a contradiction

A pre-trial procedure took place at 9pm last night. Today and over the weekend, the parties will submit written statements and comments to the Permanent Arbitration Court. The Conciliatory Board has also been asked to submit assessments over the weekend.

On Tuesday at 9am, witnesses, consisting of staff at the Ministry of Finance and the GPs’ Association, will be heard.

The GPs’ Association is claiming that the finance ministry has already said that general practitioners are not within the Conciliatory Board’s authority. The GPs’ Association therefore regards it as a contradiction that the finance ministry is now involving the Conciliatory Board in the dispute and allowing it to extend the announced strike.

Once the witnesses have been heard on Tuesday, the court will make its final decision, either at the same sitting or later that day.

Translated by prosa.fo