The newly elected Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, MK Stalin, has announced a slew of schemes and initiatives in the name of his late father and former CM, M Karunanidhi, as part of his centenary celebrations. However, he has also ignored a crucial demand of the state government doctors, who have been fighting for the implementation of a government order (GO) issued by Karunanidhi in 2009.

The GO 354, which was notified during the DMK regime, promised to give salaries on par with the Central government doctors to the state government doctors, based on the Dynamic Assured Career Progression (DACP) scheme. The DACP scheme grants pay band 4 and promotion to doctors who have served for 13 years in the government sector. However, the GO 354 has been gathering dust for over a decade, and neither the previous AIADMK government nor the current DMK government has taken any steps to implement it.

The state government doctors have been protesting for the implementation of GO 354 for a long time, and even went on a seven-day strike in October 2019. They withdrew their strike after the health department officials assured them of fulfilling their demands. However, nothing materialised and instead, 118 doctors were transferred to far-off places as a punitive measure. The state government doctors’ associations have expressed their disappointment and anger over the denial of pay parity and have urged Stalin to honour his father’s legacy by implementing GO 354.

They have also pointed out that Karunanidhi had issued the GO with a vision to strengthen the public health sector in Tamil Nadu, where most people rely on government hospitals for their health care needs. They have argued that giving them a fair and adequate salary would motivate them to work more efficiently and serve the society better. The state government doctors have also questioned the rationale behind giving special allowances to specialist doctors and not implementing GO 354 for all doctors. They have said that this would create disparity and dissatisfaction among the medical fraternity. They have demanded that the state government should implement GO 354 without any further delay and ensure justice and dignity for them.

———

#mindvoice #mindvoicenews #currentaffairs #currentnews #latestnews #ipsc #iaspreparation #UPSC #tnpolitics #tnhealth #tnprotest