Staff Reporter :
The post graduate trainees and intern doctors have called for a 48 hours strike demanding salary hike and payment of their arrears.
They called this agitation programme while staging a sit-in programme in front of Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery on Saturday.
Dr Jabir Hossain, president of the Post Graduate Private Trainee Doctors Association and its General Secretary Dr. Nurunnabi jointly called the protest programme through a statement after staging the demonstration.
Jabir Hossain said that they had placed their demands several times to the authorities; but nobody took any effective measures to solve the issue.
He said that a doctor, who works for 14 hours or more every day, is given Tk 20,000 monthly very irregularly.
“How can a doctor survive in this situation?’ he asked, seeking the authorities’ interference,” he said.
Earlier in the morning, the protesting trainee and intern doctors staged demonstration in front of National Shaheed Minar.
Later, they met Health Minister Samanta Lal Sen and put forward their demands.
The health minister assured them that after holding an emergency meeting, he will announce a decision by 12pm tomorrow.
Dr Jabir Hossain said that postgraduate trainees and intern doctors from across the country have gathered in Dhaka.
He said they have not received allowances for nine months due to unfulfilled promises in the past.
Therefore, they have decided to continue their movement.
“We are solely attending to duties in the hospital’s emergency department currently, where critical patients require immediate attention.
However, if our demands are not met, we will also stop performing duties at emergency departments,” he said.
Their demands include increasing the salary of intern doctors to Tk30,000 and the salary of postgraduate private trainee doctors to Tk50,000.
They also call for the timely payment of dues to post graduate trainee physicians (FCPS, resident and non-resident).