Do health workers need a pay hike? No, says Kerala government

In a representation to chief secretary, KGMOA alleges the pay scale of government doctors is poor compared to other sectors.
For representational purposes (Photo | PTI)
For representational purposes (Photo | PTI)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Frontline warriors in the fight against Covid-19, healthcare workers have been on the field since January. And demands have been rising to increase their pay to keep their morale up, especially as a token of appreciation for their commitment. However, it now turns out that the state government has shot down the demand with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan — in a review meeting — saying that “increasing the wages of those who are doing their job is not a good concept”.

At the same time, the government has decided to examine why people recruited on contract under the National Health Mission (NHM) were resigning within a short span of time, particularly when more Covid First-Line Treatment Centres are being set up across the state.

“Healthcare workers are a disgruntled lot. The demand to make necessary changes to their pay scale was made considering the fact that continuous work and fear of contracting the virus have taken a toll on them. Initiatives taken by other states to that effect added to their  expectations. But the chief minister himself shot down the demand,” said a source with the health department.

TNIE has learnt that, in a Covid-19 assessment meeting held on July 13, expert committee chairman B Ekbal had asked the government to consider revising the pay scale of healthcare workers. But CM Pinarayi Vijayan dismissed as baseless the allegation that healthcare workers’ pay was low in the state in comparison to other states and took the stand that increasing their pay is unwarranted.

In a representation to the chief secretary on July 17, the state committee of the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association alleged that the pay scale of government doctors is poor compared to other sectors. They also expressed anguish over the denial of full payment to doctors and other medical staff after the ordinance on deferment of salary was passed in April.

“The medical community is committed towards eradicating the pandemic and protecting the people. But we expect the government to reciprocate and acknowledge our services by exempting healthcare workers from any salary cut or postponement,” said KGMOA general secretary Dr G S Vijayakrishnan.
The other plan under active consideration is bringing in more staff from medical colleges and  other medicinal streams like Ayurveda, Siddha and Homoeopathy to manage the patient load at CFLTCs.

Examining pay scale
The government has decided to examine the pay scale offered to those who were recruited via NHM on a contract basis. The CM is learnt to have directed the officials concerned to check whether they are paid the national minimum wage.

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