Medical interns at the Banas Medical College & Research Institute in Palanpur, Gujarat have commenced a strike today, May 31, demanding that the college pay them full stipends.
The protesting interns allege that they haven’t been given their stipends by the hospital, despite starting their internship two months ago. In addition, the interns also demanded that the hospital provide accommodation to them.
Speaking to EdexLive, one of the protestors says that they had presented their demands to the administration in several meetings before deciding to strike, but the latter's response was never positive.
“We were working for more than 52 hours a week during our internship period, and it is only fair that we are paid our dues. We have also asked the administration to offer us accommodation as this is a 24/7 job,” the protestor, who requests anonymity, says.
However, when they tried to approach the chairman of the hospital, they were told that the hospital couldn’t grant either of these demands, but the chairman promised to “see what he could do”, the protestor adds.
In a written notice sent to the chairman on March 18, the protestors reminded him of these demands and urged him to act on them.
The doctors requested the chairman to recognise their hard work and the position they were in and pay them a stipend of Rs 18,200 a month, as per the National Medical Commission (NMC) norms.
However, the interns received no response from the administration, so they eventually launched the strike, says the protestor.
He claims that as soon as the protests started, the hospital issued a notice saying that the interns would be receiving a stipend of Rs 12,000.
“We are not going to budge until we are paid the stipend amount as stipulated by NMC. The strike won’t be called off until that happens,” the protestor says.
Meanwhile, the protestors received support from the United Doctors’ Front Association (UDFA) of India, who took to X to urge the college to pay heed to their demand today, May 31.
“Interns at Banas Medical College, Palanpur are on strike, demanding their rightful Rs.18,000 stipend as per #NMC guidelines. These future doctors deserve fair compensation for their relentless work!”, the association posted.
