Several resident doctors who have been on strike in Gujarat for the past five days have decided to return their ′COVID Warrior′ certificates. They stated that they have been asked to vacate hostels and the officials have disconnected water and power supply.

Chief Minister Vijay Rupani urged the doctors to end the protest and honor the bond agreement. Close to 2,000 resident doctors, most of them having recently finished their post-graduate courses, went on strike on the evening of August 4. The primary issue is the bond service period and emoluments according to the Seventh Pay Commission.

The protesting doctors are from government-run medical colleges in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar. Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel had cautioned that the Epidemic Diseases Act would be enforcedif these doctors did not resume duty.

A protesting doctor said that they were asked to show proof of their work during the COVID-19 pandemic when they went to Gandhinagar to meet top officials, adding that the ′COVID Warrior′ certificate given to them by the government is the biggest proof that they have worked day and night without thinking about themselves. Several doctors have decided to return the ‘COVID Warrior’ certificates.

Chief Minister said that the hospitals hardly have any COVID patients currently. When the cases were at peak, a scheme to consider one day of COVID duty as two days of the bond service was introduced. However, there are no COVID-19 cases now, so, the doctors must honor the bond agreement. Rupani urged the doctors to end the strike and resume their duties as per the bond.

Meanwhile, Deputy CM said that these doctors should follow a more practical approach and abide by the rules. He said that he has asked them to end the strike and resume their duties. Their plea for transfer to a place of their choice will be considered after they join their duties.

In Gujarat, medical students of government colleges have to sign a bond, under which they have to serve in rural areas for a year after completion of their studies. The state government had issued duty orders to the doctors as per the bond recently. Doctors can break the bond if they pay Rs 40 lakh.

In April, 2021, as the cases were increasing, the state government had announced that one day of COVID-19 duty will be considered equivalent to two days of the bond duty. But as the cases declined in July, a fresh notification was issued which stated that the ratio of the COVID-19 duty and the bond service period is restored to 1:1 day instead of the previous 1:2.

The doctors now demand that the 1:2 days formula should be restored. They are also seeking payment of salaries as per the Seventh Pay Commission. They are also demanding posting in their mother institutes during the bond period and not in rural areas.

Source: The New Indian Express