Photo Source: Babushahi Network
6th Pay Commission row: Silence of government forced doctors to boycott health services again
Announces boycott of health and veterinary services including OPDs from 12th to 14th July
Chandigarh, July 10, 2021:
An emergency meeting of the Joint Government Doctors Coordination Committee (JGDCC) was held on Saturday to decide the next action of the plan. As the government remained silent on the issue of NPA and did not come up with any meaningful solution, it was announced to shut down health and veterinary services from 12th to 14th July including OPDs and in public interest, emergency, COVID, postmortem and medico/vetro-legal services will continue as earlier.
Dr. Gagandeep Singh President, PCMSA, Dr. Sarabjit Singh Randhawa President, Veterinary Officers Association, Dr. Gagandeep Singh Shergill Senior Vice President PCMSA, Dr. Pawanpreet Kaur President, Dental Association, Dr. Sanjeev Pathak President, Ayurvedic Association, Dr. Balwinder Singh President, Homoeopathic Association and Dr. Deepinder Singh President, Rural Medical Officers Association said that due to the government's silence on the issue of NPA, JGDCC is forced to give strike call again. keeping in view the convenience of the general public, the decision is taken by the Joint Committee that all the doctors in the state would boycott the government OPDs from 15th to 17th July and parallel OPDs would be run by the JGDCC in the lawn of the hospitals so that the needy persons would not be deprived of availing health/ veterinary services. They further announced that during the boycott of health services, all the doctors of the state would also donate blood and area wise blood donation camps would be organised i.e. on 15th in Malwa, on 16th in Majha and on 17th in Doaba region. It may be recalled that the Health Minister had recently assured the Joint Committee to resolve the issue of NPA within a week but no action has been taken by the government in this regard even after a week.
In a statement issued to the press, the Convener, JGDCC Dr. Inderveer Gill said that this NPA agitation is to save the public healthcare system. We will oppose any move of the government that is directed to destroy it. Doctors of the state did not want to close down the health and veterinary services but the government was pursuing a policy of evasion instead of resolving the issue of NPA. Dr. Sarabdeep Singh Media incharge, JGDCC said that the NPA paid to the government doctors by the Sixth Pay Commission has been reduced from 25 per cent to 20 per cent and it has been de-linked from the basic salary for which there is a huge outcry among government doctors of the state.
All the presidents in the Joint Committee strictly warn the government of dire consequences and hold the government responsible for any adverse outcomes. They told that if the government did not resolve the issue of NPA by 18th July, all the Health and Veterinary doctors across the state would go on indefinite strike from 19th July onwards and JGDCC will be forced to further sharpen their struggle for which the entire responsibility will lie with the government.