N.L. doctors reject latest contract offer

The association representing doctors in Newfoundland and Labrador has rejected the latest contract offer from the provincial government.

A Newfoundland and Labrador Medical Association official told CBC News that the offer is "insulting" to doctors.

The official said the key offer of 97 per cent pay parity with doctors in Atlantic Canada — phased in over four years — is unacceptable.

The government offer would see physicians in Newfoundland and Labrador achieve near-parity with their Atlantic Canadian counterparts by 2013.

The province's more than 1,000 doctors would receive 40 per cent of the pay increase in the first year of the contract and 20 per cent in each of the next three years.

The NLMA said Wednesday it remains willing to negotiate with the provincial government.

The medical association and the government have been negotiating a new contract for doctors for more than a year. The previous four-year agreement expired last fall.

Seeking clarification

Last week, the NLMA wrote the province looking for clarification on the government's latest offer.

In a letter obtained by CBC News, the association asked for numerous points of clarification from provincial Finance Minister Tom Marshall.

The association wanted to know what the province meant when it offered physicians pay that is "approximately 98 per cent of Atlantic parity." Doctors are also asking for clarity on the government's proposals on fee-for-service inequities, emergency services and incentives for rural doctors.

Physicians have said the province must significantly increase the amount it pays them if it wants to recruit and retain doctors.

Earlier this year, the NLMA asked the government to agree to binding arbitration to create a new contract, but the government rejected that, saying it believes a negotiated agreement can be reached.