Imphal: Despite calling off their strike after being convinced by the state government, the doctors of Manipur health services have decided to go on indefinite strike as the state government has not yet addressed their long pending demands.
The doctors under the banner of All Manipur Health Services Doctors’ Association (AMHSDA) boycotted Outpatient Department services (OPDs) in all government-run hospitals on January 9.
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team had earlier reported that the doctors raised four primary demands including time-bound promotion, an extension of the retirement age of specialist and non-specialist doctors up to 65 years, the inclusion of non-practicing allowance in the basic pay with effect from January 1, 2016, as per the 7th Pay Commission, and amendment of the Manipur Health Service Rules 1982.
When speaking to reporters at the Manipur Press Club in Imphal, Lolee P. Mao, the general secretary of the AMHSDA, told Nagaland Post that the state government had neglected to pay doctors. “Government treats our services as essential but doesn’t bother for our well-being,” he said. He further stated that the doctors are on the verge of loosing their patience.
According to Mao, the doctors working under the banner of AMHSDA have been pleading with the state administration to grant their request for the past two years, but the government has shown no sign of considering their demands. The doctors' started boycotting work from the final week of October last year. However, they called off agitation after assurance from the state government.
Doctors who were performing their tasks wore black badges as a sign of protest. A series of sit-in protests across the state's 16 districts occurred in its wake. They stopped the strike in the middle of November when the state Health Minister promised to address four major demands by presenting them at a cabinet meeting.
The doctors resumed their strike and suspended all the OPD work in all government hospitals, including district hospitals, as there was no response from the government.
However, the strike was called off recently after the health minister once again assured to discuss the demands in the cabinet meeting but it was not discussed in the recent cabinet meeting convened on January 25, the general secretary said.
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“It is unfortunate that the government resorted to delaying tactics over our demands” he said. He also stated that AMHSDA had consulted with over 1,300 of its members working in various healthcare facilities across the 16 districts of the state before deciding to start the agitation.
The general secretary stated that a decision regarding the date of the indefinite strike would be made soon and that, for the time being, no date has yet been set for its continuation.