Medical association suspends wage list raise

AMMAN — The Jordan Medical Association (JMA) on Saturday suspended its decision stipulating the raise of the wage list.

In a statement carried by the Jordan News Agency, Petra, the JMA said that the recent raise of the wage list was suspended in response to the public rejection of the decision.

JMA President Ali Obous was quoted by Petra as saying that "while the association is protecting doctors' rights, it is also fully aware of patients' realities and is keen on safeguarding them".

Lower House Speaker Atef Tarawneh, who on Friday called on JMA to refrain from raising the wage list, commended the syndicate on Saturday for suspending the decision.

In a statement carried by Petra, Tarawneh said the JMA's decision to suspend the increases to the doctors' wage list "reflected the deep realisation of the syndicate's president and members of citizens' living conditions and their understanding of their difficulties".

Meanwhile, MP Ibrahim Bdour, head of the Lower House’s Health Committee, said that the panel decided to cancel an emergency meeting it planned for Sunday following the JMA's suspension of its decision. 

Earlier on Saturday, Bdour said that the committee would invite a number of ministers, health sector stakeholders and professional association representatives to the meeting, stressing that the JMA has no other choice but to withdraw the decision that "affects every Jordanian home".

Jordanians can no longer tolerate further increases on prices and taxes, the MP said, adding that citizens, who look at professional associations as defenders of their interests, cannot accept syndicates’ decisions to raise their members’ wages.

On Saturday, the Islamic Centrist Party stressed that the JMA decision under these difficult circumstances was "unacceptable".

In a statement carried by Petra, the party said that at a time JMA and other professional associations protested against the income tax draft law and led nationwide protests that toppled the former government, the JMA decision raises many questions about the syndicate’s motives in leading efforts against the bill.

Also on Saturday, MP Mutaz Abu Rumman, deputy president of the Lower House’s Finance Committee, said that the syndicate’s decision is "unacceptable and unjustified", Petra reported.