MADURAI: Stating that some government doctors are demanding equal pay and promotions for both MBBS doctors and specialist doctors, and wish to forego private practice, Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA) president Dr Senthil said that such demands are not acceptable for many. He further said that many are politicising the pay issue.
Speaking to TNIE, he said, "During 2017-19, we made several demands to the state government and it was met with resistance and civil suits. A section of government doctors split from our association. They demanded a pay grade on par with government doctors in central government agencies. However, the workload is lesser at such agencies, and the doctors do not treat the public directly, but are employed with government entities, such as the railways and only treat railway employees. There are around 10,000 doctors deployed in central government agencies, while in Tamil Nadu there are 20,000 doctors with the state government’s agencies.”
However, while the funding for central agencies is higher, it is significantly less for the state government and the state government is trying to bridge this gap. Even the TNGDA has bridged the disparity since 2009 till date, having obtained many GOs and bridged the gap between central and state doctors by around 80%. With private practice available for state government doctors, the actual disparity is lesser than that. Three months ago, the TN government issued a GO to increase pay and speed up promotions. Around Rs 235 crore has been allocated for the purpose, he added.