Workers Struggles: Asia, Australia and New Zealand
30 July 2021
Contract doctors strike in Malaysia for permanent jobs
About 7,000 contract doctors employed in Malaysia’s public hospitals walked off the job across Malaysia on Monday to demand changes in their terms of employment. About 23,000 frontline contract doctors are employed under a temporary system established by the government in 2016.
The strike, which also affected COVID-19 care centres, was in defiance of threats from health authorities and police. Clothed in black, the doctors returned to wards soon after the walkout, having ensured patients were being looked after. The contract doctors’ strike (
Hartal Docktor Kontrak ) demanded that these doctors be given permanent jobs. Currently in a career limbo, short-term contract doctors are blocked from professional advancement and their pay is at least 30 percent lower than permanent public health doctors.