AP junior doctors escalate strike, boycott emergency services over stipends
Junior doctors across Andhra Pradesh on Monday escalated their ongoing agitation over stipend revision by boycotting emergency medical services. In one of their key demands the junior doctors sought a 30 per cent hike, while the state government proposed a mere three per cent increase.
The protest, which began on August 10, now entered its third phase on Monday, August 17.
The Andhra Pradesh Junior Doctors Association (APJUDA) announced a total boycott of emergency medical services starting at 8 am on Monday, affecting intensive Care Units, casualty wards, labour rooms in government medical colleges. Non-emergency services will also remain suspended.
The latest action marks the third phase of the association’s agitation. Doctors had initially withdrawn from non-emergency services while continuing emergency and intensive care duties. The association escalated the protest after the state government failed to provide a written satisfactory response on stipend revision by 5 pm on August 15.
The protesting doctors include interns, junior residents, senior residents, super-speciality postgraduate and postgraduate doctors posted under the District Residency Programme (DPR) and peripheral postings.
The doctors are demanding a revision in stipends, citing a government order that provides for periodic increases. They have sought a 30 per cent hike, while the state government has reportedly proposed three per cent increases. The doctors have also raised demands related to the retirement age of government doctors and recruitment norms for MSc and PhD.
The association had agreed to postpone an earlier planned strike while talks with health authorities continued, but later resumed the protest after the discussions failed to produce a resolution.
