BHUBANESWAR: With the peripheral cadre doctors continuing their strike despite government’s threat of withholding their salaries, the Health department has called for a meeting with representatives of Odisha Medical Service Association (OMSA) on Saturday to discuss their demands.
Director of Health Services Mahesh Mohan Panda informed mediapersons that the meeting will be held at Health and Family Welfare minister Mukesh Mahaling’s office on Saturday morning. The strike, launched by the OMSA on Wednesday, continued to disrupt healthcare services across government health establishments in the state for the third consecutive day on Friday. The Health department on Thursday ordered immediate withholding of salaries for those who have abandoned patient care.
The Health and Family Welfare department also directed formal notice and action against contractual doctors participating in the statewide agitation.
The OMSA members, however, refused to call off their protest until fulfillment of their 10-point charter of demands that include implementation of the dynamic assured career progression (DACP) scheme as per the central pay structure from the date of eligibility, proportionate cadre restructuring, incremental incentives for super specialty, specialists, diploma holders and administrators, postmortem allowance, implementation of three-year exist policy in KBK and TSP areas, and strengthening of safety and security measures including revision of Odisha Medicare Act, among others.
“Our demands have been repeatedly ignored and if we rejoin duty, the government will sit back on it again,” alleged one of the agitating OMSA members in the state capital.