AMMAN - The Jordan Medical Association (JMA) on Monday decided to suspend a strike by public sector doctors, following a pledge by the government to study a proposed payroll system proposed by the syndicate.

The decision, according to JMA Spokesperson Bassem Kiswani, was taken during a meeting with Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit and members of the Cabinet.

"The government promised to study the proposal on March 19, as a first step towards its endorsement," Kiswani told The Jordan Times over the phone yesterday, adding that the government also pledged to implement the new payroll system, if endorsed, starting the second half of the year.

The syndicate’s members from Ministry of Health cadres started a work stoppage on Sunday calling on the government to raise their wages.

In a previous statement, they said the strike will continue until the government meets their demands, which also include improving working conditions “to prevent brain drain”.

During yesterday’s meeting, Minister of Health Yassin Husban stressed that the ministry understands these demands, and promised to improve the work environment for doctors and revise their salary scale, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

According to JMA statistics, some 300 doctors resigned from their jobs in the public sector last year in search of better opportunities and wages either in the private sector or in Gulf countries.

Husban previously said that the majority of those who left the public sector are doctors experienced in rare specialisations.

He added that the ministry invests in doctors and sends them to receive training in Royal Medical Service hospitals, and after that they leave the public sector to improve their living standards.

According to ministry figures, general practitioners start with a basic salary of JD570, in addition to the overtime allowances that raise wages to JD675 per month.

To guarantee that the government will meet its promises, “we signed an agreement with the minister of health to present the proposed payroll system in the Cabinet meeting as promised”, Kiswani explained.

“If the government does not okay the proposal, we will go back to the strike,” Kiswani said.

The government is currently preparing a study to restructure salaries of all workers in the public sector, Petra reported.

It added that the premier revealed this plan in his meeting with the JMA representatives.

He also said that the study will be ready on April 23.

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