TN government doctors threaten strike for pay parity with central govt doctors

Chennai: Tamil Nadu government doctors have threatened the authorities with an indefinite strike from October 25. This comes after the government failed to sort out their pay anomaly. The doctors demanded pay parity with central government doctors and threatened to strike if the state government does not meet their demands. If the strike goes, thousands of patients across the state would be affected.

Meanwhile, the state government has not made any announcement on this possible crisis yet. The strike decision comes after the Federation of Government Doctors Associations held an emergency meeting at the Madras Medical College Hospital today. They have urged the government to consider their long-pending requirements, until October 24.

The federation also mentioned that they would only be attending emergency services if their demands are not met. It was also mentioned that no elective surgeries would be performed. The doctors’ community said that the central government doctors earn Rs 1.2 lakh a month on completion of 13 years of service. However, it takes nearly 20 years for Tamil Nadu doctors to reach that point. It may be recalled that two years ago, the state government accepted their demands, but failed to implement it.

Sources say that there are around 18,000 doctors on government rolls in Tamil Nadu and about 3,000 of them will immediately benefit if the state revises the pay band. This strike could also lead to these doctors losing their jobs as they come under the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA).

In August, six government doctors launched an indefinite fast to draw the attention of the state government to their demands — implementation of Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP).