FNC members discuss salaries for medical interns
Acting minister of health raised issue of pay for Emirati medical interns with the FNC Tuesday
The Federal National Council Tuesday postponed debate of petrol prices and subsidy for the next session.
On proposal from representatives, Mohammad Ahmad Al Murr, Speaker of the FNC, said the council will discuss the issue in a next session as the budget of the FNC needed to be fast-tracked behind closed doors.
Petrol prices in the UAE are too high and should be brought down to match levels in other Gulf countries according to a proposal by an ad hoc committee of the council.
"The petrol price in the UAE is the third highest in the Arab world after Syria and Tunisia, which does not fit a country that is ranked seventh in the world with an oil reserve of 97.8 billion barrels or 6.65 per cent of the world's oil reserve," the paper quoted the committee's report as saying.
The committee suggested fuel prices in the UAE, one of the world's top five oil exporters, should be brought down either by a direct cash subsidy for Emiratis or a general subsidy for petroleum products.
Medical interns: Complaints on salaries
Emirati medical interns receive a monthly salary equal to half the payment of a newly qualified general practitioner, Abdul Rahman Al Owais, acting minister of health, told the Federal National Council Tuesday.
The minister sent a letter to the House in response to a question by Shaikha Al Owais, a member from Sharjah, who enquired about benefits of medical interns after complaints from dozens of interns working in hospitals and clinics in the northern emirates that they had not received salary for seven months.
Emirati interns said the ministry's decision to stop their salaries would discourage students from choosing careers in medicine.
Petrol prices debate postponed
The Federal National Council yesterday postponed debate on petrol prices and subsidy for the next session. On proposal from representatives, Mohammad Ahmad Al Murr, Speaker of the FNC, said the council will discuss the issue in the next session as the budget of the FNC needed to be fast-tracked behind closed doors.
Petrol prices in the UAE are too high and should be brought down to match levels in other Gulf countries according to a proposal by an ad hoc committee of the council. "The petrol price in the UAE is the third highest in the Arab world after Syria and Tunisia, which does not fit a country that is ranked seventh in the world with an oil reserve of 97.8 billion barrels or 6.65 per cent of the world's oil reserve," the report said.
