UP: 25 Doctors of COVID-19 Dedicated Hospital Resign Alleging Salary Cuts
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Lucknow: As many as 25 doctors of a private medical college in Uttar Pradesh's Barabanki, including the head of a department, resigned en masse on Thursday alleging that the hospital management had cut their salaries by 30%.
A letter, signed by 25 doctors of Mayo Institute of Medical Science, Barabanki, was sent to the institute's Dean, J.K. Das. In the letter, three points were raised by the doctors. “1.) irrational salary deduction during our duty in COVID times, 2.) other deductions under various head and 3.) repeated misbehaviour and unacceptable attitude of the management despite unconditional support to the institution (sic)” citing the causes for their resignations.
When asked about the reason behind the mass resignation, Rakesh Sharma, Head of the Department of Ophthalmology, who has also resigned from his post, told NewsClick that the matter had been simmering over the past month.
Dr. Sharma said they took the decision after receiving a WhatsApp group message from the management informing them that salaries of professors and associate professors would be reduced by 30%. The message added that salaries of assistant professors and senior residents would be cut by 20%, and that of junior doctors by 10%.
“Despite us having fulfilled our duties during the pandemic, our salary is being slashed by 30%. We did not raise the issue earlier since we had been told that the deduction is temporary as the out-patient department (OPD) is not functional. However, when things are getting back to normal and even our institute is functioning smoothly, then why are our salaries being deducted?" Dr Sharma said.
Dr Sharma alleged that other members of staff, including ward assistants, computer clerks, helpers and lab attendants were also forced to go on leave.
"When we reminded our Dean and sent him a notice saying that we are ‘corona warriors’ and that the management should not do this to us, he did not pay any heed. This is why we were forced to tender a mass resignation," he added.
The doctors of Mayo institute said members of the medical fraternity were increasingly facing discrimination and harassment, despite them being on the frontline of the fight against COVID-19. "The management has not even paid their salaries for March," said a doctor, requesting anonymity.
Another doctor claimed that the hospital management had forced them to go on leave for a week in March, during the time the country was under a strict lockdown.
“The management continued to ask us to go on leave, despite knowing that there was a high chance of us getting infected. Even while the country was witnessing a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, they asked us to go on leave, again," a doctor, who has resigned from Mayo Institute, told NewsClick. The doctor explained that they were being forced to go on leave so that their salary for the corresponding period could be deducted and the hospital could save some money.
The doctors alleged that they had taken up the issue with the management on several occasions, but that the authorities were not ready to hold talks to diffuse the situation.
The Mayo Institute of Medical Science, located in Barabanki district, 30 km east of Lucknow, is a COVID-19-dedicated hospital. The hospital has 720 beds and about 200 doctors on its rolls.
Neeraj Kumar Mishra, Assistant Professor at the General Surgery department of Mayo Institute and Uttar Pradesh President of the United Resident Doctors' Association (URDA), alleged ever since the doctors and professors resigned, the management had been dealing with people on an individual basis and threatening them.
"Instead of holding a meeting with us to resolve the issue...the authorities threatened to book us under the Epidemic Act and said they would destroy our careers. Is it a crime to raise our voice for our rights?" Dr. Mishra said, alleging that the hospital management had even forced them to work at a different nursing home on the same salary.
The Mayo Institute of Medical Science has since terminated Dr. Mishra and Dr Sharma for speaking out. "We have both been terminated by the institute authorities and the rest of the doctors who had resigned with us are frightened," said Dr Mishra.
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