doctors (illustration)
doctors (illustration)Israel news photo: Flash 90

Talks between the Israel Medical Association and the Finance Ministry ended late Tuesday night without reaching a resolution for some 20,000 physicians around the country.

A demonstration is scheduled today (Wednesday) in Jerusalem outside the Knesset, where the plenum, technically on vacation, will meet in a special session.

A proposed 20-percent wage hike was only one percent higher than the ministry's previous offer, according to the union, which turned it down.

The ministry has also linked the wage agreement with a demand that doctors punch a time clock. The union has fiercely opposed this, saying doctors are not clerks and often are called upon to perform medical tasks outside the clinic or hospital as well.

Talks resume Thursday.