Wages cut for medical college staff

BENGALURU: As the Covid pandemic is creating havoc with their balance sheets, private medical colleges and hospitals across Bengaluru have announced forced leave without salaries and pay cuts to their staff.St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences recently ordered that the employees have to go on seven days leave without pay and their duties would be staggered due to the big deficit in earnings.

The hospital director, Dr Paul Parathazham, wrote in the order that because of a sharp decline in the number of regular patients visiting the hospital and closure of colleges, the workload in most departments has decreased substantially. “This has resulted in a huge deficit in revenue. Despite the deficit, salaries were paid in full the last four months drawing upon our capital reserves and by deferring the payments due to our contractors and vendors. Going forward, we are short of resources to pay the salaries as usual. To help tide over this crisis, the executive committee in consultation with the heads of departments, have taken the following policy decisions,” the order reads.

From August 2020 onwards, until further notice, all employees in St. John’s are required to take seven days leave without pay and seven days earned leave in a month. Those who do not wish to take the earned leave or do not have earned leave, have to take 14 days leave without pay. Department heads have been told to implement the order for the rest of July. The policy does not apply to faculty and staff of the emergency, critical care and certain other essential services, said the order dated July 16, 2020.

“Parents are in a difficult financial situation and are not willing to pay fees for next year. We have reduced the salary by 30 percent for our senior residents, professors, assistant professors and associate professors who are earning more than Rs 30,000 per month. Once we get the fees, we will repay what we have deducted,” said Dr Naveen S, principal, Rajarajeswari Medical College and Hospital.

Dr Srinivasa S, state secretary, Indian Medical Association - Karnataka, said they have requested private medical colleges not to deduct wages or enforce leave without pay. “Revenues in hospitals are hit by Covid, but medical colleges are collecting fees from students. Also, they don’t have to entirely depend on earnings from hospitals. Colleges like BGS Global Institute of Medical Sciences, Vydehi Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre and Sapthagiri Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre have also implemented wage cuts,” he said.“If the employee does not have earned leave, he/she is forced to take leave without pay for 10-15 days. Those above 55 years old and are exempt from Covid duty are also seeing wage cuts,” he said.