IMA Kerala highlights junior doctors' pay disparity, seeks Rs 80,000 monthly salary

Thiruvananthapuram: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) Kerala has urged the state government to revise the salaries of junior doctors and ensure a minimum monthly remuneration of Rs 80,000, stating that the existing pay is “inadequate and fails to reflect their qualifications and responsibilities.''

According to the PTI report, it also expressed concern over a recent notification issued by the Government Medical College, Thrissur, offering a monthly salary of Rs 42,000 for MBBS-qualified doctors appointed as Casualty Medical Officers (CMOs).

According to the association, the remuneration was disproportionately low considering that junior doctors undergo more than five-and-a-half years of medical education and compulsory training before taking up duties involving life-saving treatment, emergency care and medico-legal responsibilities. 

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It pointed out that a security officer’s post in a university, requiring only a BSc qualification, carries a starting salary ranging from Rs 55,200 to Rs 1,15,300. 

The IMA highlighted the disparity in the pay remuneration offered to doctors, clarifying that the comparison was not intended to question the pay of any other government employee. 

Describing junior doctors as the “backbone of government hospitals”, the association said they provide round-the-clock services in casualty departments, intensive care units, medical and surgical wards, and labour rooms, often working night shifts under severe physical and mental stress while handling legal and professional responsibilities.

The IMA further warned that an increasing number of young doctors were leaving Kerala for other states and abroad in search of better pay and working conditions.

It said the state would struggle to retain skilled medical professionals in its public healthcare system unless adequate financial recognition was ensured.

The association said it had earlier urged the government to fix the minimum monthly salary of junior doctors at Rs 80,000, arguing that the demand was not excessive but represented the minimum recognition deserved by young doctors entrusted with safeguarding public health, reports PTI.

IMA Kerala State President Dr M N Menon and State Secretary Dr Roy R Chandran, in the statement, urged the government to immediately review the salary fixed for Casualty Medical Officers at Government Medical College, Thrissur, as well as that of other junior doctors, and ensure a minimum monthly pay of Rs 80,000.

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