Striking medical staff ignore meeting with government

THE GOVERNMENT phalanx of the National Assembly Committee on Health and Minister of Health Javier Díaz and his officials waited in vain, for two hours on Tuesday, October 16, for the leaders of striking medical groups.

They had been warned in advance of the no show, so the meeting to analyze the proposed changes to the law which allows the hiring of foreign doctors went ahead

Medical union leaders, who are on strike over the measuresay  they were not asked for input before the government went ahead with its plan.
The unions have called for the bill to be repealed, and vowed to continue the strike, which has resulted in hundreds of cancelled surgeries and thousands of missed appointments.
Diaz described the unions' stance as "an intransigent position" and said they have ignored all efforts to end the strike. He said that the government has shown a willingness to negotiate.
Diaz urged the unions to end the strike because "they are putting the Panamanian population at risk. They should come here to solve this problem.