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Tamil Nadu government doctors continue strike despite CM’s dismissal threat
The TN Government Doctors Association (TNGDA) and Federation of Government Doctors Association (FOGDA) have launched the stir demanding that the government honour its commitment for a pay raise as agreed earlier.
Government doctors in Tamil Nadu continued their strike for the seventh day on Thursday to press their four-point charter of demands, despite chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami’s (EPS) threatening them with a sacking order.
EPS said the government would not hesitate to dismiss the striking doctors and recruit others to those posts.
“If the striking doctors fail to report for duty, the government will declare those posts as vacant and take necessary steps to fill them up with other qualified candidates,” the chief minister said while speaking to the media.
The strike is being spearheaded by unrecognised unions, he added.
The TN Government Doctors Association (TNGDA) and Federation of Government Doctors Association (FOGDA) have launched the stir demanding that the government honour its commitment for a pay raise as agreed earlier.
The other demands include adequate recruitment of doctors keeping in view the rising number of patients and reservation in post-graduate medical courses for service doctors.
Nearly 13,000 doctors of the FOGDA are continuing their agitation and according to the association’s convenor Dr A Ramalingam, about 60 to 70% of the 18,000 members of the organisation were taking part in the protest.
Even as the strike continued across the state, health minister Dr C Vijayabaskar extended the deadline for the agitating doctors to report for duty by Friday morning or face the axe. He added that 50 doctors have been transferred.
Thanking those who have returned for duty, the minister expressed confidence that others too would follow suit.
Earlier in the day, the deadline was afternoon but the threat failed to yield any result with the doctors remaining firm in their demands.
Warning the doctors to fall in line, the health minister said preparations were underway to declare the posts of the striking doctors as vacant and to fill them up with qualified candidates.
However, the associations stuck to the position and urged the government to resolve the issue at the earliest.
“Two months ago, the health minister held talks with TNGDA and promised in writing to initiate steps to within six weeks. But, he has not kept his word. Instead, he is blaming us for demanding what is due to us. The demands are nothing new,” Dr Ramalingam said.
The agitation has elicited support from the entire opposition with many leaders, from including the DMK and Left parties, as well as others extending their solidarity. The PMK, an ally of the AIADMK, is also supporting the striking doctors.
DMK president MK Stalin accused the AIADMK government of ineptitude and alleged that it was attempting to weaken the agitation through unfair and undemocratic means.
“The health minister and officials are engaging in creating division in the ranks of the striking medicos and are resorting to undemocratic and authoritarian means such as threatening to lay hands on break-in-service and conduct certificate besides transfer,” he said.
