Over 2500 Punjab Govt doctors to resume strike on January 20 over unmet demands
Chandigarh: Amidst ongoing talks between the finance department and the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA), no significant outcomes have been achieved so far, prompting around 2,500 doctors in the state to resume their agitation on January 20th. The doctors are urging the government to fulfill its time-bound commitments.
In a recent press release,
“Sound, well thought proposals prepared by the health department, aimed at
pragmatically addressing the core issues of high attrition/low retention/low
entry rates of doctors, which are primarily attributed to lack of security
arrangements, stalled career progressions and increased workload due to an
overall shortage of doctors, have been shared with the finance department.
However, no notification has been issued to date, despite the fact that PCMSA
has strongly endorsed the above proposals and has been pushing for their prompt
implementation.”
While PCMSA appreciates the health department’s efforts to recruit 304 medical officers and rationalize the
PG policy to lure young doctors into the PCMS cadre, it strongly urges the government
to issue notifications in line with the proposals prepared by the health
department for the resolution of security and DACPs reinstatement issues. PCMSA is
set to announce the detailed program of agitation at a state-level press
conference to be held at Moga on 19th January.
PCMS cadre had proceeded
on a week-long agitation in September last year demanding regular recruitment
of PCMS doctors, reinstatement of the stalled DACPs, and adequate security
arrangements. The protests were called off after an intervention by the Chief
Minister of Punjab and the issuance of time-bound written assurances by the cabinet
sub-committee of the government.
Meanwhile, PCMSA hopes
that the government, in line with its steadfast commitment towards the overall
improvement of public healthcare of the state, fulfils the written promises
made in September last year and issues the necessary notifications as per the
draft/proposals prepared by the health department, by this week, thereby
preventing any kind of inconvenience to the people of the State.
PMedical
Dialogues had earlier reported that PCMSA announced an indefinite strike across all public
healthcare facilities of the state, starting from January 20th. The action came
in response to the failure to fulfill time-bound commitments related to the
rollout of a security framework and the reinstatement of the Dynamic AssuredCareer Progression (DACP) scheme. The members of the Punjab Civil Medical Services Association (PCMSA) held
a meeting with officials from the Health and Finance Departments but the issue
was not resolved.