Doctors of Kasturba Hospital go on indefinite strike to demand pending wages
The strike by doctors comes in the backdrop of the city witnessing a slow uptick in the number of Covid-19 cases, after a brief lull. Delhi on Saturday added 419 new Covid cases, as per the daily state government bulletin.
At least 100 doctors of Kasturba Hospital, which is run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation, went on an indefinite strike from Saturday to demand pending wages, which they claimed have not been paid for three months now.
The strike by doctors comes in the backdrop of the city witnessing a slow uptick in the number of Covid-19 cases, after a brief lull. Delhi on Saturday added 419 new Covid cases, as per the daily state government bulletin.
On Saturday, the agitating doctors staged protest at the hospital and demanded payment of pending salaries, inconveniencing hundreds of patients. Some patients chose to return home due to the strike.
Resident doctors of Hindu Rao hospital and Rajan Babu TB Hospital have also extended their support and are likely to go on strike from Monday over non-payment of salaries.
The 450-bed Kasturba Hospital is a maternity and child specialty hospital of the north corporation located near Jama Masjid, while Hindu Rao Hospital is the largest medical facility of the north civic body with 980-bed capacity.
According to representatives of doctors association, the civic body had promised to streamline the issue but had failed to do so.
Dr Sunil Kumar, president of the Kasturba Hospital Resident Doctors Association, said doctors have not been paid for last three months at all five hospitals of the north civic body.
“Our salaries are pending since December and we are working without money. Non-payment of salaries has now become a routine affair in north civic body and this should be stopped. This is the end of financial year and we have to pay taxes, but we don’t have money as our salaries are pending. It is a situation of complete chaos and the authorities should make serious efforts to solve this crisis. We will not return to work until our salaries are paid,” Kumar said.
Kumar also said that the strike impacted patient treatments as work at OPD was not conducted on Saturday and patients were referred to other nearby hospitals. “Some patients of gynaecology department in Kasturba Hospital were shifted to other hospitals as resident doctors are on strike,” he said.
According to civic officials, the north corporation employs around 1,000 senior doctors, 500 resident doctors, and 1,500 nursing officers across its five hospitals — Kasturba Hospital, Hindu Rao, Rajan Babu TB hospital, Maharishi Valmiki Infectious Disease hospital and Girdhar Lal hospital.
This is not the first time when doctors had to go on strike on non-payment of salary issue. In June 2020, doctors of Kasturba Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital had threatened to tender mass resignations over the issue of pending salary of two months but had to take back their decision after the Supreme Court asked the north corporation to pay their dues. Later in October the same year, the doctors were on strike for over a fortnight to get their pending salaries. They called off the strike after being paid two months salary. Again in January they had threatened to go on strike, but were later paid for one month and decided to call it off.
Abhimanyu Sardana, president Resident Doctors Association Hindu Rao Hospital, said that the salaries of December, January and February are pending. He said that a decision on when to go on strike will be taken on Monday after a meeting of representatives of the association.
“We have several times written to the civic authorities to release our salaries on time but nothing happened. It is a shame that doctors who have a crucial role in the fight against Covid-19 have to resort to strike or mass resignation to get their rightful salary,” Sardana said
Jai Prakash, mayor North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said, “We are making arrangements to release two months salary of doctors as soon as possible. We have also had a meeting with the doctors of Hindu Rao and Kasturba hospitals and assured them to release salary soon. We have appealed them to call off the strike.”
