Claim compo: The Hospital Authority has proposed to pay $629 million in compensation to settle public doctors' holiday claim.

The Hospital Authority has proposed to pay $629 million in compensation to settle public doctors' holiday claim, the authority's Chairman Anthony Wu says.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, Mr Wu said the authority and a public doctors working group have reached a conclusion on the issue after a four-week discussion.

Package details

According to the proposal, doctors will be divided into six bands according to their speciality and seniority. The amount of compensation varies depending on their frequency of being "on-call". The lowest band will receive no compensation while the highest group will get $222,000.

The proposal will cover all serving public doctors and there will be a mechanism for those who have quit to apply for compensation.

Noting the offer is fair and reasonable, the chairman said the offer is now pending the authority's board's endorsement and 95% of public doctors' acceptance. If 95% of public doctors accept the offer, the authority is planning to make a one-off payment.

Mr Wu said the authority will continue to discuss with the Government the funding arrangement, adding the amount of the compensation will be provided in the 2005-06 account.

Settlement applauded

Welcoming the move, Secretary for Health, Welfare & Food Dr York Chow said it is in all parties' interest to settle the matter early and end the long overdue discussions.

"I hope the confrontation and lack of mutual understanding between the staff side and the management of the authority will diminish, leading to a more harmonious working environment," he said.

"As a statutory organisation, the authority enjoys financial autonomy. We believe it will work on ways of identifying funding sources for the settlement. The Government would like to learn more on the relevant financial arrangements."