Maharashtra resident doctors' strike enters its second day. According to Dr Abhijit Rajesh Helge, President of the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD), over 8,000 resident doctors have been on strike since February 22, demanding stipend regularisation and hike; and better hostel accommodation.
Speaking to EdexLive, the president said that upon the direction of the Minister for Medical Education Hasan Mushrif on February 22, members of Central MARD along with presidents and general secretaries of individual colleges, met the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) today, Friday, February 23.
Giving more details, Vice-President of Central MARD, Dr Sarbik De, told EdexLive, "In today's meeting with DMRE Dr Dilip Mhaisekar, we were asked to call off the strike. We put forth our three main demands. However, again we were given only verbal assurances.
"After deliberating with all the MARD representatives, we have decided not to call off the strike," he said. The association was upset that the hour-long meeting with the DMRE couldn't fetch any written assurances.
In a statement issued today, February 23, they said, "All members and resident doctors unequivocally voted to continue the strike citing Government’s failure to fulfil our demands despite Frequent verbal assurances. Thus with the collective and unanimous decision of all members Central MARD has decided to Continue with the PAN MAHARASHTRA strike until our legitimate demands of Hostel Accommodation, Stipend Regularization and Stipend Hike are met."
Demands of residents include:
1. Availability of adequate hostel accommodation for Junior and Senior Resident Doctors
2. Payment of stipend to Resident Doctors' bank accounts by the 10th of every month with clearance of outstanding stipend to date
3. Payment of stipend at the same scale as that of Central Institutes
Flashback
The vice-president recalled that their previous strikes were called off upon the verbal assurances given by the ministry. In their statement, they claim that they have written 28 letters with follow-ups with administrative and ministerial levels to date.
