COVID service arrears: Resident doctors at Mumbai’s civic hospitals go on strike – Times Now

Mumbai: Resident’s doctors at Mumbai’s government hospitals and civic hospitals of several other districts of the state went on a strike on January 2. The doctors claimed that the government had not entertained many of their demands including the creation of new positions for senior residents, dearness allowance in accordance with the 7th Pay Commission, and payment of COVID-19 service arrears.

At first, the resident doctors at the civic hospitals in Mumbai threatened to skip work January 2 onwards. Later, doctors of the state’s government-run medical colleges in other districts also announced that they would be absent from work from January 2.

In a letter to the authorities, the BMC MARD sought the implementation of a Government Resolution on dearness allowance at BMC hospitals along with clearance of arrears of dearness allowance from July 1, 2018.

The doctors are fighting to equalise their salaries across the state and recruit 1,432 more senior resident doctors. They have also requested that the government fill open associate and assistant professor positions as there is a shortage of teaching staff.

The association has also asked for equitable remuneration for all senior resident doctors in the state. The BMC MARD claimed that it had repeatedly brought up its demands to the civic organisation and the state government, but they remain unaddressed till date.