After assurance from Min, med interns call off strike

After getting an assurance on their demands from Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan, the medical interns called off their indefinite strike on Tuesday and resumed work on Wednesday. The final decision on increasing their stipend will be announced after two months.

The general secretary of the Intern Doctors' Association said they had a positive meeting with education minister on Tuesday, in which their demands were accepted and will be implemented after two months. “The government has assured that our demand for a pay raise will be sorted out in two months and all the doctors have resumed duty on Tuesday midnight. The minister asked us to follow up on our demands,” said Dr Gokul Raka, general secretary, Intern Doctors Association.

Mahajan has assured the interns saying that within two months and after consulting all the concerned departments, they will take a final decision on their demand for a pay hike.

More than 2,700 medical interns across state went on an indefinite strike on June 13, demanding an increase in their stipend. Currently, medical interns in the state get a stipend of Rs 6,000 per month, which they say, is not on a par with other states, where interns get nearly Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000. On a related note, the state government had increased the stipend from Rs 2,500 to Rs 6,000 in April 2012, after massive protests were held by interns in 2011.