TN revises minimum wages for Duty Medical Officers at private hospitals, draws criticism
Chennai: In a latest development, Duty Medical Officers (DMOs) working at private hospitals or nursing homes with a bed strength between 1 and 50 will now receive a revised minimum basic wage ranging from Rs 14,875 to Rs 16,057, depending on the hospital's location. For larger hospitals with over 1,000 beds, the revised minimum wage will range between Rs 15,634 and Rs 16,876.
This revision comes after the Labour Welfare and Skill Development Department issued a government order categorising hospitals into different zones based on geography and bed strength to determine wage levels. According to the order, the new monthly wages of a duty medical officer will range between Rs 14,000 and Rs 16,000, based on the hospital’s location and size.
Also read- Rs 40,000 for Medical Officer Post: Doctor slams TN Govt over low pay scale
However, the revised pay structure has drawn criticism from medical associations, who say the wages are too low given the workload and responsibilities doctors carry, reports TNIE.
Dr G R Ravindranath, general secretary of the Government Doctors Association for Social Equality (DASE), questioned the logic behind the rates. He asked, "How was it fair to set the minimum wage for a doctor at Rs 16,876 even in a hospital with over 1,000 beds?"
Similarly, Dr S Karthick Prabhu, state secretary, Indian Medical Association (IMA), said the revised wages were not much higher than what they were getting earlier. “With DA it will come to around Rs 21,000,” he said.
Medical Dialogues had previously reported that the Gujarat government has increased the honorarium for private visiting specialists and super-specialist doctors serving at the district hospitals, sub-district hospitals and community health centres under the Chief Minister’s Setu Scheme. As per the new revised pay scale, visiting doctors across various categories will now receive higher daily or monthly payments for their services in government hospitals.
Also read- Gujarat Hikes Honorarium: Rs 4,200 for Visiting Specialists, Rs 8,500 for Super-Specialists
