TN govt doctors put off proposed strike over pay issue

Government doctors in Tamil Nadu have put off their proposed strike over pay anomalies following a submission by the state government in the Madras High Court Bench here that it was looking into recommendations by a panel that went into the issue.

The government counsel submitted before a bench of Justice K K Sasidharan and Justice P D Audikesavulu that the recommendations of a one-man commission on addressing anomalies were being studied and steps would be taken to ensure pay parity, a key demand of the agitating doctors.

The submission was made on a petition by Mohammed Yunis against the proposed strike by the doctors. The strike was scheduled to start on Saturday.

Following this, the Tamil Nadu Government Doctors Association informed the court that it would temporarily suspend the proposed strike.

The bench then posted the case for hearing to December 17.

Doctors affiliated to the association had boycotted outpatient services on December 4, demanding three time-bound promotions in the fourth, ninth and 13th year of service instead of the existing pattern of eight, 15 and 20 years and salaries on par with their counterparts in other states.

The doctors had threatened to boycott elective surgeries and classes in medical colleges across the state from Saturday if their demands were not met.