Salary challenge: 868 Kerala doctors may end Covid duty today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Uncertainty remains over the continuity of junior doctors employed temporarily in Covid-19 care centres as the deadline set by them in their resignation letters, citing salary issues, is Thursday.
Efforts are on in the top official level to exempt these doctors from the salary challenge so that they receive their full monthly salary of Rs 42,000. However, a decision on this is yet to be taken as the file is pending with the finance department, said sources.
As many as 868 doctors had submitted their resignation citing salary issues, but attempt to dissuade them are on. As per their resignation notice, their last working day is Thursday. Even after they tendered their resignation in protest, the chief minister made it clear that the government would go ahead with the pay cut and that there was no chance of reconsidering.
With the salary challenge ending in August, the doctors are expected to get the full salary for September. "But that is not the case, we want the salary that has been cut from the previous months (June, July, and August). We have given the representation and we expect that the government will take a favourable decision," said Dr Ousam Hussain KP, state president of Kerala Junior Doctors Association 20-21. The junior doctors said they would expect a government order before the deadline day. "The final decision on whether to discontinue our service will be taken on Thursday. We have service till October first week as per the government decision. The government has not yet taken any decision whether to extend our service or not," Dr Ousam said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, there were reports that the government has decided to rectify the salary cut and issue a fresh order. Sources said that the salaries of the junior doctors are paid through SPARK and hence the salary cut for the salary challenge was performed automatically.
The doctors appointed on contract basis for Covid duty under national health mission are not facing this salary cut since their salaries are paid from the NHM fund, which is not remitted through SPARK. The government had appointed 1,080 MBBS graduates for Covid duty in June. These doctors were promised a monthly salary of Rs 42,000 but were given only Rs, 27,000 after deductions for the salary challenge, professional tax, and TDS.