The PG doctors continue the strike as the health minister Veena George was unable to give any concrete assurance in writing to meet their demands of appointing more junior residents and increasing the stipend by 4% for PG doctors. 

The health minister had urged them to withdraw the strike saying that the government has taken all the possible steps to resolve their issues. She has assured that a high-level meeting will be convened on Thursday to finalise the appointment of more junior residents and the government would set up a committee to look into the workload of the PG doctors in the hospitals. 

Regarding the increase in the stipend, the health minister said that after discussions with the representatives of the Kerala Medical Post Graduates Association on December 7, the health department had proposed a 4% increase in the stipend and had forwarded the file to the finance department. But the finance department rejected the proposal stating that the stipend in Kerala was already higher than other southern states. Kerala and Karnataka stipend was Rs 55,000 compared to the stipend of Rs 48,000 in Tamil Nadu and Rs 45,000 in Andhra Pradesh which the PG doctors get. The finance department, further said that the present financial situation of the country was not conducive for an increase in the stipend and it could be considered when the situation improves.

Source: ET Healthworld