Jordan- Minimum wage raised for private sector doctors 

(MENAFN - Jordan Times) The Jordan Medical Association (JMA) on Monday set the minimum wage for private sector doctors, raising the salaries of both general practitioners (GP) and specialists, according to a JMA representative.

Under the decision, the minimum monthly salary was fixed at JD850 for a GP and JD1,500 for a specialist, Naim Abu Nabaa, chairman of the JMA's private sector doctors committee, told The Jordan Times.

Currently, some GPs are paid less than JD400 per month, while specialists get less than JD800, he noted.

In addition, Abu Nabaa said the JMA called on insurance companies to abide by the agreements signed with the doctors in their network, charging that some private sector doctors are "victims" of insurance companies.

"Doctors receive discounted payments from insurance companies, which are less than the fees they agreed upon," he said, adding that some companies also charge doctors JD150 for publishing their names in their network guides.

In addition, some companies collect a 5 per cent service fee from the doctors in their network which "is not part of the agreement", prompting some doctors to terminate their contracts with insurance firms, according to Abu Nabaa.

Meanwhile, the JMA will hire a recruitment company to follow up on contracts of Jordanian doctors who are planning to work abroad.

"We received many complaints about contract violations," Abu Nabaa said, explaining that when these doctors arrive at their workplace abroad the wages they receive are different from those they agreed upon with the recruitment company before leaving Jordan.