Coronavirus Update- Equal Work, Unequal Pay, Complain Some Doctors On COVID Duty At BMC Hospitals

Resident doctors in the midst of degree and diploma courses from the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) boards, working at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) hospitals like Cooper Hospital in Bandra and 16 peripheral hospitals, receive a measly stipend of Rs 14,800.

These doctors are studying for specialisation in fields such as ophthalmology, orthopaedics, anaesthesiology and so on, undertaken after acquiring a bachelor's degree in medicine and surgery (MBBS). Astonishingly, even after being certified doctors and registered as qualified practitioners, these CPS resident doctors are being paid less than those studying similar courses, including MD (doctor of medicine), MS (master of surgery), Diplomate in National Board (DNB).

According to a letter written by the association of CPS board resident doctors to the muncipal commissioner, the BMC has hiked the stipend for fresh MBBS graduates doing internship, from Rs 6,000 to Rs 50,000. Why such injustice for CPS board resident doctors, the association has questioned. The Free Press Journal has a copy of this letter.

Raju Zurale, 30, has been on duty for the last 20 days at SevenHills Hospital, now a dedicated Covid facility. Before this, he was posted at Cooper. He comes from Solapur's Sangola taluka, a remote area. "How can one can meet their family necessities with just Rs 14,800? I cannot even bring my family to live here, on this salary. I live all alone. All CPS resident doctors have been assigned Covid duty. Though all of us CPS resident doctors do the same work as MD, MS, DNB doctors, we are still paid less. Our colleagues from these courses draw at least Rs 54,000 per month. Moreover, the BMC has announced a Rs 10,000 hike, but we CPS resident doctors are paid so meagerly, in comparison. It's a common belief among people that all doctors are highly paid but sadly, that is not the case for us, in BMC-run hospitals. Therefore we are demanding stipend on the basis of 'equal work-equal pay'."

For the last two years, their association has been demanding a hike in stipend but till date, they have got none. "The municipal commissioner wants CPS doctors for Covid duty. A notification was issued on April 8, asking the Cooper Hospital dean to deploy 86 CPS resident doctors at SevenHills hospital, so it could be operated at full capacity. If they want CPS doctors for treating Covid patients, then all doctors should be paid equally."

Another doctor, Avinash Jadhav (name changed), 29, working in Cooper Hospital, tested positive while on duty and is currently quarantined. He said, "We are really upset with our stipend, though we are doing work similar to those of any other doctor. Besides, the BMC has issued a circular inviting MBBS doctors for Covid duty, offering them Rs 80,000. So why are we CPS doctors, who also have MBBS degrees and studying professional degree/diploma courses paid so less? We are not threatening a strike over this stepmotherly treatment. But in this critical pandemic situation, we too should be given some financial assistance by the BMC."

Further, he pointed out, CPS resident doctors deployed at Thane civic hospitals, railway hospitals and the Mumbai Port Trust and district hospitals are drawing salaries over Rs 50,000.

Civic chief Iqbal Singh Chahal and Dr Tatyarao Lahane, director, Directorate of Medical Education and Research, Maharashtra, and head of the Covid task force, did not answer our queries at the time of writing this article.