Members of the Karnataka Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) are firm on their decision to resign en masse on October 27 as talks between them and Health Minister U.T. Khader remained inconclusive on Friday.
KGMOA president T.A. Veerabhadraiah said the Minister had explained to them that some of the demands put forth by the doctors required amendments to the law as they were inter-department issues. “He has assured us that a meeting with the Chief Minister would be organised soon, and as of now our decision to resign en masse holds good. However, we will take a final decision after the meeting with the Chief Minister,” he said.
Before the meeting, Mr. Khader told presspersons that the government was open to discussion with the doctors, and that most of the demands had been discussed earlier.
A proposal to increase the salaries of doctors was forwarded to the Finance Department last month. The process of recruiting 983 specialist doctors, 331 general duty medical officers, 87 dental health officers and 2,118 nurses was also under way and the Karnataka Public Service Commission was likely to complete the process in the next six months, the Minister added.