KOTTAYAM: Skipping work, organising marches, raising slogans and creating maximum difficulties for public are all part of the usual mode of protests. But the PG Medicos in the state has decided to work more on their day of protest to highlight their demand for a hike in remuneration.
Quite different from the way the Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) staged their protests recently, the resident doctors in the state will launch their token protest demanding periodical increase in their stipend, on Tuesday, by taking up a 24 hour duty in all five Government medical colleges, having PG courses, across the state.
As many as 2,000 junior and senior residents will join duties at acute care rooms and casualties on Tuesday after completing their own work for the day.
According to Dr Bibin P, secretary, Kerala Medical Post Graduates Association (KMPGA), resident doctors will turn up for extra duties in the casualty sections under General Medicine, General Surgery, Orthopaedics, and Paediatric Departments. “While those having day duty in their concerned departments, will join the casualty after their duty time, others, who are on leave or having off day will also turn up for duties,” said Bibin.
Bibin said though the resident doctors are considered as the junior-most staff in the government medical sector as per residency manual, they were being paid peanuts.
“We are forced to come out with protests as our demand for hike in stipend has not been considered by the government even after several rounds of talks,” he said. According to Dr Jinesh P S, SR representative in the KMPGA state committee, the government had increased the remuneration for bonded residents to `50,000 and `60,000 in different MCHs. The stipend of academic resident doctors should also be revised, he said.
Meanwhile, KMPGA functionaries said that Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has agreed for a discussion on Monday. They also expect that the issue will presented at Wednesday’s Cabinet, and a decision will be taken soon. Another demand is ensuring necessary protection of doctors on duty at MCHs and droping the move to make MBBS the basic qualification for entry-level asst professor post instead of Post-Graduation. Tuesday’s protest will be a token strike, and will be intensified if their demands are not met, they said.