The medical officers of the Department of Health and Family Welfare in Mysuru have resolved to stop submitting the COVID-19 daily bulletins to the COVID-19 War Room from Tuesday until September 21 in support of their demand for hiking salaries on par with the pay-scale of medical officers in Central Government Health Services (CGHS).
The association of the government medical officers here has also warned of striking work barring emergency services and suspending OPD services from September 21 if the government did not respond favourably to their demand.
“When the doctors of the Directorate of Medical Education can get the Central scale, why not us,” asked Karnataka Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) State Vice-President and Mysuru District President Devi Anand.
He told The Hindu that the association had decided to stop releasing the bulletins as a sign of protest and to draw the government’s attention. A memorandum seeking salary hike was submitted to the government in July and August 15 was set as a deadline for fulfilling the demand for the Central scale. “However, there is no headway with regard to our demand at a time when the salaries of medical college doctors and AYUSH department doctors had been hiked on par with CGHS,” he claimed.
Other demands include 8-hour work like in Tamil Nadu, filling of vacant doctors’ posts in the State, and dedicated beds for government doctors in COVID-19 hospitals.
“Based on the response from the government, we will decide on the next course of action after September 21,” Dr. Anand said.
Sources told The Hindu that the State has around 4,186 government medical officers and a strikemay severely cripple healthcare services, especially the handling of COVID-19 cases.
The government doctors had stopped giving COVID-19 bulletins and services had come to a halt here barring emergencies when they resorted to a protest in Mysuru last month over the alleged suicide of Nanjangud THO S.R. Nagendra.
