Intern Doctors Launch Indefinite Strike at BJ Medical College over Unpaid Stipends

Strategic Insights -

Dozens of intern doctors from the 2020 batch at BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital in Maharashtra, India, embarked on an indefinite strike on Tuesday, protesting the non-payment of stipends for the past three months. The interns, who began their mandatory internship on April 5, claim they have been left with significant financial hardship due to the unpaid stipends. The striking interns warn that essential medical services could be disrupted if the issue is not resolved promptly.

Key Takeaways:

  • The intern doctors are demanding immediate disbursement of all pending stipends since April 5, a transparent system for timely stipend payments in the future, and assurance that no disciplinary action will be taken against participating interns.
  • The interns claim they have not received any stipend since the start of their internship on April 5, despite the Maharashtra government's earlier announcement of a hike in the monthly internship stipend.
  • The interns allege negligence on the part of the hospital administration, citing long-term absence of responsible administrative staff handling stipends, failure to send necessary documents to the treasury on time, and false claims about missing attendance.
  • Dr. Eknath Pawar, the dean of BJ Medical College and SGH, claims that the interns only approached the administration to demand their stipends, stating that the claim of non-payment for three months is incorrect.
  • The dean attributed the delay to the processing of online payments, which required the interns to open bank accounts and submit required documents, a process that was completed only by the end of May.

Statistics:

  • 30-40 intern doctors from the 2020 batch at BJ Medical College and Sassoon General Hospital launched an indefinite strike on Tuesday.
  • The interns have been working without stipends for over three months, since their internship began on April 5.
  • The Maharashtra government had hiked the monthly internship stipend earlier, but the interns claim they have not received any payments under the revised structure.
  • The interns have made three key demands: immediate disbursement of all pending stipends, a transparent system for timely stipend payments, and assurance of no disciplinary action.

Sources:

  • Hindustan Times, "Intern doctors at BJ Medical College launch indefinite strike over unpaid stipends", July 16, 2023.