Page 1 of 6: Maharashtra Resident Doctor Strike

chachoch · Credits: 13547 My Scrapbook

February 28, 2006
10.00 AM

PRESS RELEASE

We, Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors, on behalf of all resident doctors in the state of Maharashtra are on an agitation against the Government of Maharashtra and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation starting on 28/02/2006 at 8.00 AM.

The most important issue is that of security along with our age-old demand for implementation of Central Residency Scheme and improvement in the health system and Post Graduate Medical Education in Maharashtra .

Time and again, we have put forward our grievances and given suggestions to the authorities. But the Government has given no timebound or definitive solution. Hence we have been forced unwillingly to take such a harsh step.

We are providing a copy of the letter containing our demands that we have given to the authorities along with this appeal to the general public through the media. We are also working towards a practical solution to alleviate the inconvenience caused to the public.

We proposed to conduct ‘Parallel OPDs’, minor operations to serve the common public, which is in the need of medical aid. We are working towards gathering funds, mobilizing resources and premises for the same. We are seeking help from NGOs and private medical practitioners.

We have approached the authorities and they have not shown any positive attitude towards finding an immediate and fruitful solution to our problems. Instead, they are misdirecting the public sentiment by giving false statements to the media to hide their failures and inability to find and implement appropriate solutions well in advance.

We would like to tender a sincere and heartfelt apology to the public for the inconvenience caused to them because of the strike. We urge the public to come forward and support us the dedicated resident doctors who have been serving them day and night, 24 hours in miserable working conditions without getting any help from the authorities.

Media Spokespersons
Yashodhan Deshpande ([snip] 10654)
Yoganand Patil ([snip] 94600)
Bharat Jigyasi (92232 52293)
Ramnath Gutte (93231 51693)
Sanchita Gupta (93238 03196)

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chachoch · Credits: 13547 My Scrapbook

February 28, 2006
10.00 PM

Press Release

Our representatives met with the Municipal Commissioner and Honorable Minister of State for Medical Education and Research despite our discussions and our sincere efforts to sort out our problems nothing fruitful arose from these meetings.

The representatives of Central MARD had a meeting with the Municipal Commissioner Mr. Johny Joseph today afternoon. They put forth our demands to the Commissioner and discussed our grievances with him. He agreed with us that most of our demands were beyond his powers. They reassured the Municipal Commissioner that we are at no point trying to tarnish the image of the B.M.C. and we due to our miserable working condition are being forced to take
such a major and radical step. But we do not want to trouble the people all over the state therefore we are not starting a statewide agitation as yet. They requested the Commissioner to bear with us while continue our fight against injustice and continue our fight for our basic needs.

The representatives of Central MARD also met with Honorable Minister of State for Medical Education and Research,
Shri. Suresh Shetty. Also present at the meeting were Director of Medical Education and Research, Dr. Tayade and Principal Secretary, Mr. Khan. We again put forth our demands and grievances. We were heard but had to return from their doorstep dejected and depressed, as all we got were empty promises and assurances. No concrete action plan has been put forward and some of our demands have been out right rejected.

1. We demanded improvement in the security provided at the various hospitals throughout Mumbai (by increasing the powers given to security personnel or employing private agencies). In response to this they told us that for this they need to consult Home Ministry and they will try to do what they can at some point in the future.
2. When we mentioned the Central Residency Scheme where in issues like working hours, accommodation, food, canteen, etc. Were discussed the Honorable Minister begged ignorance about it and said that they would put up a committee soon which would come up with some suggestions after surveying all the colleges in Maharashtra . The Minister also said that as far as increasing the stipend went, they did not have enough funds at present and this will be considered at a later time.
3. When we raised the issue of decreasing or scraping the tuition fees, the topic was unceremoniously discarded saying that they were in fact planning to raise the fees from the present 18, 000 to a whopping amount of 50, 000 which amounts to an increase to more than 200%.
4. When the issue of Doctor-patient ratio was brought up they said that they would consider starting DNB seats again but nothing could be done about this matter at present.
5. When we asked for recognition of all PG seats they said that they would work on it.
6. When we talked of insurance for resident doctors they said that they will talk to private companies and would let us know at a later date.
7. On touching upon the issue of 24 hour library they said that would not be possible but they would provide reading rooms in hostels which a rather illogical suggestion as the hostel did not have even enough space to house the residents. No comments were made as to updating the library.

Our opinion after the discussion is that the authorities have largely ignored our demands and they are instead trying to give falsified statements in front of the media and public that is showing us in bad light. They are trying to project that they have fulfilled most of our demands but since our real demand is only a hike in stipend we are continuing the strike. This is not at all the case as we would gladly come back to work as soon as some concrete plans with definite guidelines are given. We have no interest in prolonging the agony of the patient whom we have pledged to serve for our lifetime. We only want to say that we are not in a position to serve the community in our presently anguished state.

Media Spokespersons
Yashodhan Deshpande ([snip] 10654)
Yoganand Patil ([snip] 94600)
Bharat Jigyasi (92232 52293)
Ramnath Gutte (93231 51693)
Sanchita Gupta (93238 03196)

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chachoch · Credits: 13547 My Scrapbook

Hello friends,

It's been a long time. But this time, I'm here with a serious issue. Please support the residents in the state of Maharashtra . Spread the information and try to get support for us.

Cheers

Dr. Kay

wondergirl · Credits: 13379 My Scrapbook

we are very much with u dr chacoch

Rueeta · Credits: 5571 My Scrapbook My Reading List 61 Books

I'm not supporting......We are TOGETHER in this!!!!

flower · Credits: 5874 My Scrapbook

it looks like the "diplomatic people" are giving the "committee bithao" [bleep] again.... they do it with a shocking sincerity......... committee bithao.. fir matter bhool jao........ its justly said tat "democracy" is a lie to fool the people. they really just make committees which veto every suggestion. simple and inexpensive as that. the strike has to continue terribly long enough to make any difference...... but then the people will have to go without pay for tat long. thats how these slobs want the strike to wither away..... while they sit in their plush homes and plan abt more profitable avenues.
on another note, some things tat must be done. u have to get hold of a news channel who will support us and not politicos. else they will continue to portray a bad image of doctors. then the strike will do more harm than good.
secondly, there should not be any shame on asking for more pay...... we r definitely in the wrong profession. should have joined call centres and gotten much higher pay eventually.
whichever way , things will not change.
even as rmo in private big hosp we get 1/4th of delhi pays.........
i sincerely hope things improve this time round. but thinking of the ppl who make the decisions....... well they'll never have to go thru such hardships so they will never understand.
all depends on how long the strike goes on.... if and when we can bring the system on its knees........ thats a really big if.........

aujla · Credits: 102267864 My Scrapbook

hey ,
why is it that pgs get this in Maharashtra ??
what is happeneing....people are forgetting to respect the docs i think
im with u guys

rick12 · Credits: 2641 My Scrapbook My Reading List 1 Books

AS ALWAYS Maharashtra GOVERNMENT IS ACTING DEAF TO OUR RIGHTS.. ( LET ME TELL U WE ARE NOT FIGHTING HERE FOR DEMANDS; THESE ARE OUR RIGHTS)
SO THIS TIME WE SHOULD NOT BACK OUT UNLESS WE GET OUR RIGHTS..
THE ATTITUDE THAT THESE AUTHORITIES HAVE TOWARDS THE CONDITION IS JUST BEYOND ANY WORDS...
INSTEAD OF UNDERSTANDING THE PROBLEM, THEY ARE POTRAYING US IN MEDIA AS MONEY-CRAZY-LAZY-PEOPLE-WHO-DONT-WANT-TO-WORK..
SAYING THAT IT IS JUST ON THE OF STIPEND THAT WE HAVE GONE ON STRIKE...
COMMON GUYS WE HAVE TO FIGHT THIS TIME...
HOW LONG WE SHALL BE FOOLED BY THESE BEAUROCRATS...
ITS NOW OR NEVER...

rick12 · Credits: 2641 My Scrapbook My Reading List 1 Books

ALL U DOCTORS ARE AWARE OF WHATS BEING GOING ON YEARS TOGETHER IN HOSPITALS ALL OVER Maharashtra ....
DOCS ARE BEATEN UP LIKE DOGS ...
POOR LIVING CONDITIONS IN HOSTELS..
VERY LESS STIPEND....

THIS HAS COME TO AN END ....

SO VOICE UR SUPPORT TO THIS STRIKE AS A PART OF MEDICAL FRATERNITY....
SEND IN UR POSTS AND SUPPORT THIS STRIKE...
LETS JOIN HANDS AND MAKE IT AN ONLINE REVOLUTION...
TOGETHER WE CAN , TOGETHER WE LL MAKE THE DIFFERENCE...

P.S. doctors from all over the globe can voice their suppport..
to know more about the strike visit maharastra forum

RxPG_Team · Credits: 19665755 My Scrapbook My Reading List 5 Books

Mumbai doctors' strike continues - NDTV

RxPG_Team · Credits: 19665755 My Scrapbook My Reading List 5 Books

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drani · Credits: 4326 My Scrapbook

chachoch this is indeed a serious and imp issue and we r all with u in it. but do tell us how exactly can we support....we r eager

drani · Credits: 4326 My Scrapbook

oh my god did u people see this

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quoting the news piece: What started off as a strike to ask for better security for doctors has now spiralled into a charade of arm-twisting, with the doctors making ridiculous demands of the state government.

Representatives of striking doctors who met Suresh Shetty yesterday surprised the health minister by placing on the table a horde of issues not connected to the original strike. The government, facing a potential crisis, was forced to give in to most of their demands.

Resident doctors are exploiting the chance to demand a raise — they want their stipend hiked from Rs 10,000 to between Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 a month.

They also want their working hours reduced from 12 to 15 hours to eight hours a day, and want the state to grant recognition to certain post-graduate courses that are currently not recognised.

Canteen food

The resident doctors complained about their canteen food and accommodation, and demanded that medical college libraries be kept open 24 hours a day.

“We thought they had a issue with security, but they started raising all these issues,” said a shell-shocked Shetty. The minister said that while the BMC would deploy more security personnel at their hospitals, the state government would hire private security guards for doctors.

In the end, the government was forced to accept some of the additional demands. “We agreed to keep libraries open for 24 hours and assured them that the food contractor would be changed. We also suggested that the students themselves could be put in charge of their own canteens by giving them the status of government servants,” said Shetty.

and just read this :Minister promised

The only demand that was not resolved immediately was the pay hike. The minister promised students that he would inform the finance department of their demand and personally take them to meet the chief minister.
The students initially seemed satisfied, but soon changed track and said the strike would continue.

Meanwhile, Shetty met Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh yesterday, and decided to give the students time till Wednesday afternoon to call off the strike or face action.
New demands

- Pay hike (Rs 10,000 to Rs 20,000)
- Less work (12 hours to eight hours)
- Better food
- Better accommodation
- 24x7 libraries
- Recognition for certain post-graduate courses
(The government gave in to all but the pay hike)

drani · Credits: 4326 My Scrapbook

did sumthing like this really happen? have they accepted the other demands except the pay hike?
how much of this is true, someone pls throw light.
what r these newspapers trying to project? shudnt we do something abt this?

chachoch · Credits: 13547 My Scrapbook

Hey friends,

Here are the ways to support us.

Spread the news around - via SMS, e-mail, blogs, website, letters to newspapers, talk to TV/Radio channels.

Reply to the rubbish that mid day had to come up with by posting comments to editors.

Post at our own weblog

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(That is actually mard(hyphen)strike(dot)blog spot(dot)com

Dr. Kay

Edited by: RxPG Team
Edit Reason: fixed URL

entconsultant · Credits: 2074 My Scrapbook

Dear members of MARD,

Wishing you all the best!
I my self was part of the MARD strike 1999 ,where we were betrayed by our own leaders at the end.

let me ask all of you one thing,
Are we doctors as a group strong enough to fight against the government??
Have you heard of any successful strike by student community after 90"s ??

The answer is we are not.
Even the labour unions are finding it difficult to strike against the governement.
and governments have learned a long before , how to tackle the collective bargaining power of trade unions and they applied same principles against government servants and student community.
( look at what happened to striking government employees of Tamil Nadu, and 2001 strike of all government employees in Kerala).

So what are the options Resident doctors have at present ??

we have to project social issue in the forefront and bargain for our demand.
or we have to resort to legal action against the government.

one of the MARD leader of early 90's strike had all the material with him to fight for our right in court, but sadly nobody was ready to co-operate with him.
( i don't remember his name- he is practising somewhere in Pune ,i think.)

Here is some of the court orders and government orders that will help you people to fight against the government.

As per the directives of the Honourable Supreme Court in its judgement dated,25.9.87, in writ petition No. 348-352 of 1985, all the State Governments, Medical Institutions and Universities are required to amend their rules and regulations to introduce a uniform residency scheme by 1993.
In this connection Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Govt. of India has sent directive to all states & U.T. administrations vide letter No. S-11014/3/91/ME (P) dated 05 June, 1992.
The Medical council of India has also stated that “all candidates joining post graduate training programme must work as full time residents during the whole period of their training programme. The post graduate students shall be paid adequate remuneration irrespective of the status of the institution whether Government/Private/Autonomous”.

one of the Resident doctors assosciation in north india( whether it is UP or MP, i don't remember) had approached the court and got the central residency system implemented in their state. that too with a retrospective effect of 1993.i heard many got lakhs of rupees as arrears.
Residents of UP ,MP please confirm this and let us know the case number and if possible post the court order in detail in this forum.

In my opinion is best way is go to court for
1. Getting implemented the supreme court order way back in 1987.
2.Implement work hour regulation for junior residents ( presently residents are exploited by the authorities, though legally prescribed limit is 48 hr per week many residents in India are working >80 hr/week.
this is illegal and has got serious implications in the patient management.
3.Increase the PG seats , so that there will be adequate number of resident doctors to look after the patients without harming the rights of patients.
4. Get a pay at par with residents of AIIMS .

wishing you all the best once again.

lukkha · Credits: 1203 My Scrapbook

^ why do we have such small number of PG seats?

wondergirl · Credits: 13379 My Scrapbook

omg what ani hs posted is shocking...

i think we have had enough of nonsense ...this time we should seriously fight these politicians...who dont know head or tail about our profession and make us feel like mere puppets..

its time we get our dues!

as rightly pointed out by rick12 these are not our demands..they r our rights..

i think we should seriously not back off..

hope this time a concrete development takes place..

with u dr chackoch and MARD

hjorq · Credits: 2435 My Scrapbook

hello everybody.
I am all supports for MARD as their demands are fully justified.
We work like dogs during PGs .
Factory workers are employees, so are we. If the limit of working hours is implemented for them, it shld apply to doctors too. And above alll there is legal sanction for it. If it is illegal to make a resident work long hours, who are responsible? arent they punishable? anyone knows who is to be held guilty in d cour of law?

Strikes often fail for frivolous reasons. And d demands for which strike started off and got support from all residents, are often sidelined. Dunno why

Also i frequently wonder why we get beaten up so frequently. Have to yet to join PG so maybe i dont know.
I swear if some one beats me I am going to beat the shit out of that guy.. doesnt matter even if I lose a few teeth in the process!

tc

zohaib · Credits: 2777 My Scrapbook

I congratulate MARD for their bold step, i sincerely supprt thete efforts, its time we as medical professionals should the world the sufferings we bear with , the inhumane attitude policy makers have towards us , and the utter negligence showed by the policy makers towards our rights.

Today public might be using unkind words against us but did they forget so soon that it was the resident doctors and interns who were the forfront (the only front) i may add to the city when it faced with the epidemic and haboc of this monsoon.

public in general is being mislead , misinformed about us, we should try to put forth the truth before3public and win their support , it is the only way to get our rights.

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