BSMMU postgraduate doctors to go on strike over pay

Staff Reporter :
The postgraduate doctors of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) have announced an indefinite abstain from work to press home their demands for increasing their wages and allowances.
The work abstention programme will begin on July 8, they said.

The doctors demanded to hike their allowances, timely payments, and clearance of dues.
The decision was informed on Monday through a press release, signed by Postgraduate Private Trainee Doctors Association’s President Dr. Jabir Hossain and General Secretary Dr. Nurunnabi.
The postgraduate doctors, who are studying post-graduation at BSMMU, currently get Tk 20,000 as allowance. They demanded to increase their allowance to Tk 50,000.

Witnesses said that at least 500 physicians, who are not on the government payroll and are considered private doctors, demonstrated on the campus of the medical university last month, but their demands have yet to be met. “Despite repeated assurances from the authorities regarding our demands, we are still waiting for a resolution. As a result, we have announced the work stoppage,” association president Jabir said yesterday.

The protesters also criticised Health Minister Zahid Maleque for his ‘lack of awareness’ about the dilemma of the embattled physicians.
“Health Minister Zahid Maleque’s recent remarks about private trainees demonstrated that he is totally unaware of the scope of our work and the inhumane
lives we are forced to lead. We’d like to know how a doctor can support a family on Tk 20,000 in nowadays volatile market,” the doctors said.
The protesters claimed that the authorities have done nothing to address the physicians’ concerns other than delaying the matter with false promises.
As a result, the doctors will observe an indefinite work abstain and stage a sit-in on the Central Shaheed Minar premises on Saturday.