7000 Telangana Junior doctors on strike demanding timely stipend disbursement
Hyderabad: The Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA) has commenced their scheduled indefinite strike today, June 24, 2024. Approximately 7,000 junior doctors from 20 medical colleges across the state are participating in this strike, advocating for their longstanding demands.
Boycotting outpatient (OPD) services, elective surgeries and ward duties, the junior doctors have demanded a solution to their unresolved issues concerning the doctors, including the establishment of a green channel for timely stipend disbursement and inadequate honorarium for Super Specialty Senior Residents as primary grievances.
Holding placards and chanting slogans, the junior doctors organised their protest at the Osmania Medical College, Hyderabad, Gandhi Medical College, Secunderabad and many other medical colleges including Kakatiya Medical College, Nizamabad Medical College, Nalgonda Medical College and many more as part of the indefinite statewide strike.
Also read- Telangana Junior Doctors Announce Indefinite Strike Over Delay In Stipend Disbursement
"On strike for better care", "We are here to serve not to suffer", "Hands that heal should not bleed", "No service without security " are some of the many phrases in the placards used by the doctors in the protest.
Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Dr G Sai Harsha, T-JUDA President said, "We are currently in the midst of a strike and have initiated discussions with the government. We are eagerly anticipating the government's reply. Junior doctors from 20 out of the 33 medical colleges are participating in the protest."
Medical Dialogues team had earlier reported that the Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA) declared an indefinite strike commencing on June 24, citing delays in the disbursement of stipends and inadequate honorarium for Super Specialty Senior Residents as primary grievances.
In a formal letter addressed to the Director of Medical Education (DME), T-JUDA emphasized the need for prompt regularization of the "Green Channel" process and expedited clearance of pending stipends. The association stressed that consistent delays in stipend payments are causing financial distress among junior doctors and undermining their professional commitments.
The doctors demanded a G.O. on green channel and regularization along with a Memo from the Finance Department ensuring that stipends are credited within by 10th of every month. Since February the doctors asked DME to raise a proposal for the green channel but to no avail.
The honorarium for Super Specialty Senior Residents is another pressing concern highlighted by the association. T-JUDA insists that those who have completed their super-speciality training should be appointed to contract assistant professor roles with an appropriate salary of ₹1.25 lakh, effective from their official start date of January 1, 2024. The association argued that any failure to implement this measure will not only jeopardize the required one-year service commitment of these residents but also deprive them of essential financial benefits.
