More than a thousand interns in hospitals are demonstrating Saturday in Tel Aviv against the new outline for shortening their shifts

More than a thousand interns in hospitals are demonstrating tonight (Saturday) in Tel Aviv, in protest of the new outline for shortening their shifts. The demonstrators began a march from the Cinematheque plaza and blocked Ibn Gvirol Street. The director of the medical unit at the Ministry of Health, Vered Ezra, invited the representatives of the interns' organization "Mershem" to a meeting tomorrow with representatives of the Israel Medical Association, but the "Mershem" refused and demanded to meet with the Minister of Health, Nitzan Horowitz.
"They lied to us. They deceived us. They promised us a real outline, one that commits to really shortening shifts, for everyone," the interns' organization chairman, Dr. Ray Bitton, said during the demonstration. Bitton addressed Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, Horowitz and Finance Minister Avigdor Lieberman: "Let's do a 26-hour shift in Corona protection, and after that we'll see you tell us it makes sense to continue working like this."
According to Bitton, "there is no outline. This is a lie. They did not present us with any outline. Nor is there a five-year plan. There are individual professions, only in the periphery for which a budget is given to shorten shifts. "There is no commitment behind them and there is no orderly and budgeted plan. We will have to fight every year for the budget and standards. So no, we are fighting now, we are fighting now for everyone."
2,590 hospital interns submitted a letter of resignation to the Ministry of Health on Thursday, in protest of the new outline for shortening their shifts, which applies to only ten hospitals in the periphery, and which they claim has no real line. Sources in the Ministry of Health said that they are considering applying to the Labor Court for restraining orders for interns, if they do carry out the threat and resign officially.
"A sad and unbearable day, in which we are forced to submit resignation letters," said Dr. Ray Bitton, chairman of the prescription doctors' organization, during the submission of resignation letters at the Tel Aviv branch of the Ministry of Health. In the letter that was submitted, the interns wrote: "We are the H.M.
The interns' organization said that "the permit clarifies that the shortening of shifts, as we said, will only apply to 10% of interns. 90% of interns will continue to do shifts of 26 hours. For how long? Unclear. There is no mention in the permit of any due date +2 "