Salary dues: Now, Kasturba Hospital doctors go on strike

NEW DELHI: Following in the footsteps of Hindu Rao Hospital, doctors of Kasturba Hospital on Tuesday announced a strike from October 14 to 20 to protest against non-payment of salaries by North Delhi Municipal Corporation. They have threatened to offer mass resignations if their dues are not cleared by then.
The Resident Doctors’ Association (RDA) said they had communicated their plan to the medical superintendent. “We have not been paid since July and this is causing hardship to doctors who are working with full dedication during this time of crisis. We informed the hospital administration that all resident doctors, including those engaged in emergency services, will abstain from work from Wednesday,” the association added.

Sunil Kumar, RDA president, said, “We are forced to take this step because it has become a regular affair. Despite the Supreme Court’s direction for regular disbursement of salaries to medical staff, nobody is taking the matter seriously.”
A prolonged protest is likely to inconvenience hundreds of patients, especially those availing of maternity services. Many patients were shifted to Kasturba from Hindu Rao after the latter was declared a Covid-designated hospital. Though normal services resumed there on Tuesday after Delhi government declared it a non-Covid hospital, the process of shifting patients from the maternity ward and other places would be a time-consuming process.
“After we wrote to the administration, we were asked to withdraw the decision as salaries for one month might be released soon. But we refused because we want salaries for three months. There won’t be any rollback this time unless the entire amount is released. We have come to know that regular doctors at Kasturba Hospital have been given a week for salary disbursement,” said Kumar.
North corporation mayor Jai Prakash said that efforts were being made to resolve the issue. “I had asked the agitating workers’ associations to wait two months for positive news. We are trying to convince them to withdraw their decision.”
Association members said that if the civic agency was facing hardship in running the hospitals, they should transfer them to Delhi government or the Centre. “This will relieve them of extra financial burden and even we will be paid on time,” said a member of Kasturba Hospital RDA.