Rajah Muthaiah Medical College PG service doctors allege non payment of salaries since 2 years
100 postgraduate doctors are extending their services during the COVID-19 situation, however; the majority of these doctors have not received their first salary yet even after working for 2 years.
Chennai: While frontline workers are struggling to handle the coronavirus outbreak with the increasing number of health workers contracting the virus, the PG service doctors from Raja Muthaiah Medical College Hospital in Chidambaram are facing yet another challenge due to the non-payment of their salaries.
According to the recent reports, 100 postgraduate doctors are extending their services during the COVID-19 situation, however; the majority of these doctors have not received their first salary yet even after working for 2 years.
In this situation, the doctors are terribly upset over the nonpayment of their salary. Currently, the college has been converted into a state-run Government College where the postgraduate doctors are performing duties while getting salaries and continuing their education. In fact, many of them are depending on their salary only for their rent and food expenses.
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The doctors have demanded that they should get their salaries immediately. Madras Medical College stated that the process of distributing the salary has been initiated. Even after two weeks, only a few students of PG third year received their salaries. They informed that among those who received their salaries, they only got 8 month's salaries when they are supposed to get 24 month's salaries.
However, while the Madras Medical College has released salaries for some of the students of 3rd year, postgraduate medical students of the second year have not received their salaries yet. One of the doctors informed TOI "the salary is pending for 24 months. The Madras Medical College, which is in charge of paying salaries, recently credited 8 month's salary for the third year post-graduate doctors. That too not all of them have received. Not a single student from 2nd year has received their salary so far. We worked for almost 13 months without a salary."
Another doctor stated that postgraduate medical students are serving just like regular doctors in the pandemic situation. He stated "there is no difference in allotment of work. At present, we all are working in COVID-19 wards by taking turns. We work 3 shifts and Quarantine ourselves for one week. After testing, we are again assigned to duty in COVID wards."
