The expectation with the new relay system within the healthcare system is that it will reduce the training burden for the permanent employees. However, Naalakkersuisut is aware of concerns from the Greenlandic staff, Jens-Frederik Nielsen states.
This has caused unrestafter it was announced at the end of May that the Greenlandic Health Service has entered into a relay arrangement with the Danish regions regarding staff for the hospitals.
Because even if there is a need for more hands, the staff must be equal.
This is exactly what Inatsisartut member for Inuit Ataqatigiit Paarma Lund Kreutzmann has asked Naalakkersuisut about in a §37 question:
Is Naalakkersuisut aware of concerns among permanent doctors and nurses about the scheme?
“Naalakkersuisut is aware that concerns have been raised regarding the relay scheme, and takes these concerns seriously. In this connection, it is important that the employees’ experiences and perspectives are included in the implementation of the scheme, replies chairman of Naalakkersuisut Jens-Frederik Nielsen (D) on behalf of naalakkersuisoq for health and persons with disabilities, Anna Wangenheim (D).
He states that the scheme must be followed closely by a steering group, so that the general framework can be continuously adjusted if the experience with the extended relay scheme shows a need for changes.
He also refers to the fact that Anna Wangenheim has met hope and an expectation that the scheme can lead to better conditions when she has spoken with managers and employees.
Who gets paid the most?
The relay system will function in such a way that the Greenlandic Health Service notifies where personnel are needed. After this, a participating department in Denmark covers the position in question in Greenland for an agreed period.
The Danish healthcare staff are paid according to the Greenlandic agreement, but receive a relay supplement from the state.
Despite that announcement, there have been several doctors and nurses who have feared that the Danish doctors and nurses will earn more than their Greenlandic colleagues.
In his reply to Paarma Lund Kreutzmann, Jens-Frederik Nielsen explains that joining and leaving leave is given to employees in a fixed-term position, and that the Danish regions provide housing for their employees if they are part of a relay agreement.
The relay supplement has been negotiated in place in Denmark, and the Greenlandic Health Service therefore has no influence on it. Here, the nurses have the opportunity to receive 15 percent more in salary as a bonus, or choose to be paid an additional 15 percent after the end of their stay.
The participants in the relay scheme will not receive recruitment and retention allowances and annual bonuses, which are reserved for permanent employees according to the collective agreements.
“The economic and resource challenges in the health care system in recent years are a major point of attention, which Naalakkersuisut takes seriously. This applies not least for the sake of the local workforce. Naalakkersuisut has indicated since last year that the status quo is not sustainable and that the acute staffing challenges must be resolved to ensure that the long-term plans can be implemented. The relay system must also make it possible to reduce the need for employees from temporary agencies, which will result in significant savings for the healthcare system,” answers Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
The training burden
Another point of concern is whether the relay scheme will impose a greater training task on permanent employees in connection with short-term employees.
Paarma Lund Kreutzmann asks about this too.
The expectation with the relay scheme is that the same employees can return at fixed intervals and for a longer duration, so that the need for training employees will be less than today, replies Jens-Frederik Nielsen.
“It is a central consideration in the implementation of the relay scheme that introduction and onboarding for the employees is planned in a way that supports the operation and does not impose an unreasonable additional burden on permanent employees.”
He acknowledges that the permanent staff already today are tasked with a significant training task in connection with the current short-term employees and the use of temporary agency employees.
“However, with the introduction of relay agreements, this training task is expected to be reduced, as continuity is strengthened and the need for repeated training is reduced. The relay system must also support professional development in the departments for the benefit of both patients and permanent employees,” replies the chairman of Naalakkersuisut.
