Demanding pay on a par with the doctors working with Central Government institutions, members of Service Doctors and Postgraduates Association staged a demonstration on the Tirunelveli Medical College Hospital premises on Wednesday.
The protesting doctors said the State Government, which agreed to give time-bound pay hike and promotions as being given to doctors working with Central Government institutions, was yet to implement its promise. Doctors working with the State Government institutions were lagging behind in the pay structure for about 10 years than the Central Government doctors.
Hence, the State Government should address this pay anomaly before the implementation of Seventh Pay Commission recommendations and give pay hike in the 4th, 9th, 13th and 20th years of their service. Moreover, the Pay Band 4 should be given to all doctors who have 13 years of service.
Instead of following the participatory pension scheme, the State Government should revert to the old pension scheme. With the contribution of government doctors, the Tamil Nadu Government should create ‘Family Relief Fund’ to help the families of government doctors who die in harness.
The ‘childcare leave’ of 720 days, being given by the Central Government women employees, should be given to the State Government women employees also.
SDPGA office-bearers Mehaboobkhan, A. Godson, K. Kalyanakumar and others participated in the agitation. Apart from the doctors of TVMCH, doctors working with the taluk-level government hospitals and postgraduate students of medicine also participated in the demonstration.
