Medical teachers protest as BMC extends retirement age to 64

The Municipal Medical Teachers Association (MMTA) held an emergency meeting at KEM Hospital, Parel on Tuesday, and will be meeting BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal on March 3 to express their displeasure over this development. Chahal had previously, in December last year, assured them against any extension in the age criteria for retirement

Mumbai: After much to and fro, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Tuesday cleared a proposal to increase the retirement age of medical teachers from 62 to 64. The move has sparked unrest among the teachers, who say the decision will hinder promotions for around 1,000 tutors in BMC-run medical colleges.

Medical teachers protest as BMC extends retirement age to 64

The Municipal Medical Teachers Association (MMTA) held an emergency meeting at KEM Hospital, Parel on Tuesday, and will be meeting BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal on March 3 to express their displeasure over this development. Chahal had previously, in December last year, assured them against any extension in the age criteria for retirement.

The MMTA is also considering mounting a legal response, along with continuing protests and strikes. The first age extension from 58 to 62 happened in 2008, and the proposal to further extend the retirement limit to 64 was first put forward in 2018.

“There is great frustration among young doctors. There are prolonged stagnations of junior faculty for years together in the post of assistant professor and associate professor. The proposal was put forward twice before, but we managed to cancel it and the commissioner in November and December last year assured us that there will be no age extension. We were shocked to see the proposal being passed,” said Dr Ravindra Deokar, secretary, MMTA.

“In 2008, we were told there will be time-bound promotions for the junior faculty and there will be no further age extension. Both were not followed. We have been bringing the issue of filling vacant teachers’ posts to the commissioner’s notice, but nothing has been done for the same,” said Dr Deokar.

Calling it a one-sided decision, MMTA said the commissioner, being an administrator, has misused his power. “He is supposed to take only emergency decisions. Age extension of medical teachers is not an emergency decision. Only ten senior faculties, including the dean of LTMG Sion Hospital, and the director of a major civic hospital, who was supposed to retire this year, will get benefited from the decision,” said Dr Deokar.

Along with the MMTA, the Class III and Class IV employee unions at BMC medical colleges also plan to protest and strike on the age extension issue. “Our retirement age is 58. If the doctors are getting an extension till 64, we too should get some extension,” said a spokesperson of one of the unions.