Municipal docs to go on mass casual leave over no salaries

The Doctors at NDMC and EDMC-run hospitals will go on mass casual leave on Friday protesting against the non-payment of salaries. The staff at the dispensaries, polyclinics and TB centres will also go on strike.

The staff are planning to hold a protest march to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s house on May 15.

The ongoing tussle between the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has led to the non-payment of salaries of senior doctors at civic body-run hospitals and dispensaries.

While doctors at the North Delhi Municipal Corporation have not received salaries for two months now, the doctors at East Delhi Municipal Corporation have not got April’s salary.

The doctors will also be joined by paramedics and nurses in the agitation on Friday.“The doctors, nursing staff and paramedics across six major hospitals will go for mass casual leave. The dispensaries, polyclinics, maternity centres and TB centres will also go for a token strike. The staff there have not received their salaries either,” said Dr R R Gautam, president, Municipal Corporation Doctors Association.

Kasturba Hospital and Bara Hindu Rao Hospital doctors have been holding three-hour long agitation every day since last Monday.

The morning OPDs are severely affected with only emergency patients being attended to at the two NDMC-run hospitals. On Tuesday, the dispensaries, polyclinics, TB centres will join the ongoing agitation from 9 am to 12 pm, intensifying the agitation. This will affect more patients who will not be able to access services during this period.

The doctors had met Kejriwal last Wednesday to seek an assurance over the payments. 

Although he had promised the issue will be resolved in a week, there seems to be little hope, said doctors.

The MCD officials have repeatedly claimed that there are no fund available for release of salaries.