Telangana doctors demand salary hike, release of arrears

Hyderabad: The doctors of state-run hospitals have approached the government to take steps to fulfill their long-pending demands of a hike in salary and release of arrears.

At a meeting of the Telangana Government Doctors Association (TGGDA) held at Osmania Medical College, the doctors expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of government response to their demands.

Almost 600 doctors attached to state government medical colleges expressed concerns over pending salary and arrears and pointed out that arrears were due from the 2016 pay revision commission. Hence, they demanded that the government should immediately release their arrears along with the allowances to teaching doctors in rural medical colleges. 

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They demanded that the doctors and medical staff working under the Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP) should also come under the health department which should release their salaries. 

The doctors demanded district medical and health officers should be recruited on the basis of seniority. Moreover, there should be provision of health cards and regularize the posts of doctors working on a contractual basis, reports Deccan Chronicle. 

Many associations have pointed out that the Govt is consistently under-reporting vacancies across departments to evade recruitment. Despite 781 Associate Professor vacancies in 21 medical colleges, it has only acknowledged 189 positions in 25 colleges. Telangana Teaching Government Doctors Association (TTGDA) asserts that eligible candidates are limited to 189, suggesting deliberate underreporting. While the BRS Govt boasts of approving 33 medical colleges in Telangana, it hesitates to appoint even 20% of the necessary teaching staff. 

Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the Junior doctors belonging to all the government medical colleges in Telangana decided to initiate a boycott of medical services from May 3, 2023, over their pending demands for a stipend hike.