Yesterday, February 7, the Junior Residents (JRs) associated with the Maharashtra State Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), went on a pan-Maharashtra strike. This was after receiving consecutive “dry and verbal assurances” about their three demands. Following the strike, the Central MARD had a “momentous meeting” with Ajit Pawar, Deputy Chief Minister, Hasan Mushrif, Medical Education Minister, along with several other authorities of Maharashtra.
According to the statement released by the association, the authorities heard the problems of the medicos "in-depth”. Further, it read, “The authorities were empathetic and it was realised that JR’s demands were legitimate.”
The discussion went on for two hours and concluded with a few decisions:
1. Immediate grant of necessary funds to complete:
a)Existing hostel repair work
b) Initiation of construction of new hostel premises
c)Arrangement of leased-out buildings as a temporary substitute for hostel
2. Immediate regularisation in stipend payment with the release of all pending stipends
3. Immediate stipend hike of Rs 10,000 to ensure the welfare of resident doctors
Furthermore, the statement also mentioned, ”Government assured us that the above promises will be made official within the next two days.”
In addition to this, the JRs have decided to withhold the pan-Maharashtra strike only till the decisions made by the government are “given in writing by the Directorate of Medical Education Research (DMER)”, read the lines of the statement towards the end.
Besides this, the JRs also claimed that if the government fails to execute its promises in the next 10 days, Central MARD will go on an indefinite pan-Maharashtra strike.
The backstory:
According to these Junior Residents, their three demands are better hostel accommodation, an increase in stipend, and an on-time payment of stipend. This has also led to several personal problems.
The strike, which was scheduled to happen on January 3, 2023, was called off owing to assurances and promises given by the government officials to the JRs. However, the conditions have just worsened, they say.
A letter dated January 31, released by the MARD Association mentioned the details of the strike. The letter read, “As a responsible citizen and a doctor, we are extremely apologetic for the hampered patient care during the strike and ALL EMERGENCY SERVICES WILL REMAIN FUNCTIONAL DURING THE STRIKE, but the responsibility for any hampered patient care will solely lie upon the Government.”
