State docs protest for pay parity

Trichy: Around 300 doctors, associated with various organisations, staged a demonstration at government hospitals in and around Trichy on Monday, demanding equal pay with their counterparts in central government services.
The associations protested under the collective banner Joint Action Committee – Government Doctors Association in front of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Government Hospital (MGMGH), Srirangam Government Hospital and Lalgudi Government Hospital.
The associations that took part in the protest included Service Doctors and Post Graduates Association (SDPGA), Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association (TNGDA), Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association (TNMOA), Government All Doctors Association (GADA) and Tamil Nadu Association of Senior Civil Surgeons (TNASCS).
The protesters claimed that their previous demonstration on July 5, where they put forth the same demands to the state government, bore no fruit and that’s why they had to hold a widespread agitation again.
President of SDPGA Dr S Srihari claimed that while the central government doctors received pay band – 4 on 13 years of service, doctors in the state received it only after 20 years of service. “Despite us having more workload than the central government doctors, when it comes to pay, there is a severe disparity. While a few other states have addressed this issue, our government has not done it yet,” the doctor alleged. The protesters claimed that due to the variation in pay structure, central government doctors, on an average earn Rs 40,000/ to Rs 50,000 per month more than the doctors from the state.
Another protester Dr T Aruleeswaran said that the promotional structure for them should be similar to that of the doctors in central government services. Protesters, apart from the pay parity and promotion, also demanded allocation of 50% reservation by the government for in-service doctors for seats in postgraduate admissions.