What surprises me most about the $629 million offer by the Hospital Authority to settle a dispute over on-call work during holidays is that even senior doctors - the best-paid public-system doctors in the world - are also entitled to the compensation.
The doctors claimed that the lawsuit was not about money, but the protracted problem of excessively long hours. In my opinion, the real reason behind it is unequal pay: inequality is always a more powerful catalyst for discontent than other hardships. But the fact that the highest-paid among them will only get richer will do nothing to improve morale among the lower ranks.
In the good old days of the Department of Health and Medical Services, every doctor who reached the same seniority received the same pay. Those who passed specialist examinations were promoted and those who didn't moved on to something else, such as private practice. Life was fair.
Then came the Hospital Authority, first presided over by Sir S.Y. Chung, whose biggest fear was that when it was established, no one would show up. To entice government doctors to join, the board had to offer sweeteners. In lieu of the standard civil service benefits, it was decided that there would be a cash allowance of up to 66 per cent of senior doctors' basic salary.
These calculations were flawed. Most civil service benefits are meant to last only a finite period of time, such as 10 years for the home-purchase scheme. The overseas education allowance ends when children have completed their education.
Before joining the Hospital Authority, many senior doctors had already milked the old system dry by claiming the maximum allowances. Yet they then went on to receive the authority's cash allowances until their retirement. Nor is there any safeguard against double benefits if both husband and wife work for the authority. The salaries of senior doctors working for the authority are now almost double those of government-employed doctors outside the authority.