Draft Contract

(10 November 1998)

Introduction

The latest draft contract will be made available to you within the next few days. So go through it and share your views with the other anaesthetists here.

Contents

The most significant change is the reintroduction of Clause h. The difference in this Clause h is that the area covered has been extended to include
  1. Kg. Penchala Malay Reserve,
  2. Desa Sri Hartamas,
  3. Sri Hartamas,
  4. Taman Tun Dr. Ismail,
  5. Damasara Heights, and
  6. Taman Tan Sri Lee Yan Lian.
This area is now called The Territory.

I have also suggested that for the avoidance of any ambiguity in the actual area covered, that the areas of the different municipalities that are included be taken as fixed on a particular date, for example 1 January 1999. It would also be good to include a map which covers the whole area incuded in The Territory in the contract. This will,

  1. Make it much easier for us to see whether any of our current or future practices will encroach on the terms of our contract,
  2. Allow us to plan our future practices without the fear that what is allowed today will be disallowed the next day just because of a change in the area that is covered by a particular municipality, and
  3. Provide a contract that is fair to all as The Territory will be the same for everyone.
The hospital has given an assurance that all existing commitments will be allowed to continue. For example, if you have admission rights in Assunta Hospital, or Pantai Medical Centre, this will be allowed to continue indefinitely. However, you must inform the hospital immediately so that your affiliation with them is registered with SJMC.

The main sticking point is whether investing money in a planned medical facility that has not opened for operations yet constitutes an "exisitng commitment". If you fall under this category, it is best that you clarify your position with the hospital administration as soon as possible. In case any of you are not sure what I'm talking about, I'm mainly referring to those who have signed up with Sunway Medical, or whatever other name it may choose when it opens.

If you refer to sections 8.4 and 8.5, please note that in both cases, the agreement shall be terminated automatically if no agreement is reached with the MAB. In our present contract, the terms are,

7 (b) In the event SJMC elects not to renew any term of this agreement, SJMC agrees to hold prior consultation with and receive input from the MAB.
The course of action to be followed if no agreement is reached was intentionally left unspecified by the medical director then, Mr. Mack Banner. This means that, in the new contract, you will have little recourse for action if you feel that your termination was unwarranted. Please note that these sections refer to termination on expiry of contract which is different from termination for breach of contract as set out in section 13.

Another area that may be of interest to those of you who dabble in the share market or who are major shareholders, please read section 3.1 (p) carefully. The definition of a substantial shareholding was changed on 1 November 1998 to read,

where if a person holds not less than two per cent shares he is considered a substantial shareholder.
The previous minimum rate was five per cent. So you can see that, it doesn't take a lot of shares to become a "substantial shareholder"

Action

Put in your comments so that we can all have a better perspective of the draft contract.

Messages

There was only one message.

No to automatic termination - Extend another year
From: gasline
Date: Feb 24 1999

Clause h is probably no big deal to the majority of us as all of us are full-timers here in SJMC and if you're not, you should immediately apply to register your outside practices. Do it NOW.

If you've joined Sunway Medical, beware. It's probably better to discuss it with others in the same boat as you.

However, I think it is definitely better to have the boundaries of The Territory fixed permanently so that there will no quarrels or disagreements. We can all practise with the secuity of mind that we have not contravened the contract and that we shan't inadvertently do so in the future.

I cannot however agree to automatic termination as it puts the doctors at a great disadvantage. The hospital has said that it wants full timers dedicated to the hospital and has instituted programmes to encourage this (Medical Staff Services is the best example), and after we have put all our eggs into their basket, they say they want to have the right to terminate our contract automatically even if the MAB feels it is not warranted.

If the reason for termination is a breach of contract, then I would fully support the hospital's actions. But where the reasons are more obscure, I think we need some protection from the big guy and, therefore, I propose that should the hospital deem it necessary to terminate a contract against the advise of the MAB, then such contract should be extended a further 1 year before actual termination.

Conclusion

As all of you know by now, the draft contract was thrown out and the original contract was reinstituted on 24 March 1999. And so the above discussion was one in futility.

However, I feel very disappointed by the way the administration handled the whole affair. All of the medical staff was put through extreme distress and anxiety for almost 11 months from April 1998 till the 24 March 1999 meeting.

Furthermore, the Adhoc Committee for the Draft Contract spent much time and effort in trying to come to a compromise with the administration and all of this was thrown out the door without so much as a thank you. The administration has instead chosen a course of action without prior consultaion with the proper body which makes a mockery of the Adhoc Committee .
 
 


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Homepage:-  https://gasline.tripod.com/
Posted:-  25 February 1999
Updated:-  2 April 1999
Proposer:- NKW