Protest Over Non-Payment Of Salaries: Senior docs in govt hospitals to boycott duties from today

Hyderabad: All senior resident doctors in government hospitals have decided to boycott duties from Wednesday to protest non-payment of salaries for the last eight months.

The doctors said the out-patient services and elective operations would be stopped in all teaching hospitals across the State from Wednesday. If there is no response from the government, they would boycott even emergency services from Friday

The Telangana Senior Resident Doctors' Association (TSRDA) members have alleged that they had represented to Health Minister T Harish Rao regarding non-payment of salaries on June 21. There was no response from the government. They doctors have alleged that as stipend was denied, 698 were facing problems. The DME was deliberately ignoring problems of the resident doctors, they alleged.

A senior resident doctor in the Chest Hospital said, "We were appointed on November 1, 2021. No salary has been paid to doctors till now in some hospitals. It will be difficult for us to maintain our house. All have completed MD and MS courses but have no salaries. We have given notices to the management ten days back stating that we will go on strike with financial problems, but there is no response."

The doctors said when a qualified doctor is facing so many hardships, how they can continue their duties. There are 13 members in the Chest Hospitals. Salary is delayed by three months and in other hospitals the delay is for seven months. A few have family responsibilities and rents and other expenses. At least the government should release money now," said a senior doctor.

Doctors in several government hospitals took up protests with placards demanding immediate release of salaries.