Medical teachers call off strike as state govt gives assurances

This means relief for thousands of undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical students as the protesting doctors had suspended all teaching and college work until the government responds to their demands

Mumbai: Medical officers, including doctors of 18 state-run hospitals called off their strike after the director of the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) gave written assurances that their demands will be met over the next few months. This means relief for thousands of undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) medical students as the protesting doctors had suspended all teaching and college work until the government responds to their demands.

the Maharashtra State Medical Teacher’s Association (MSMTA) had made it clear that their demands have been long pending and despite the work they have put into fighting Covid-19 at the forefront for the past two years, the government has been ignoring their predicament. (Bhushan Koyande/ HT Photo)

“In order to take decisions on contractual and sanctioned posts of doctors and medical practitioners, the government will inquire more into the current situation and a decision will be taken soon. Henceforth, regular sit-down meetings with medical representatives will be arranged every three months for better communication,” states a letter signed by State DMER director, Dr Deelip Mhaisekar, dated March 17.

End of the strike has brought relief to PG medical students awaiting final signatures on their thesis. “The original deadline to submit our final year dissertation was January 15, which we could not adhere to because of the strike. Teachers and PG guides had refused to sign off their final thesis. Finally, we can focus on studies now,” said Dr Anurag Shete, a final year PG resident.

These students will be appearing for their final exams in May 2022 and in order to be eligible for the same, they need to submit their individual thesis signed by their PG guides. The PG guides are doctors working across state-run hospitals who have made it very clear that they will not engage in administrative and teaching work unless the government meets their demands.

End of strike on work also means regular classes for UG medical students in government medical colleges will finally kick off. Many colleges at present have been depending on their PG resident students to conduct regular lectures for their first year UG students. In a series of statements, the Maharashtra State Medical Teacher’s Association (MSMTA) had made it clear that their demands have been long pending and despite the work they have put into fighting Covid-19 at the forefront for the past two years, the government has been ignoring their predicament.

The association has made demands that their salaries are still not up to the seventh pay commission mark and have also demanded that sanctioned doctor posts by the government need to be regularised, especially for staff working on contractual basis for several years now.