Doctors threaten indefinite strike in Delhi hospital over non-payment of salaries

The doctors at Delhi's Hindu Rao Hospital have threatened to go on an indefinite strike from November 18 over the non-payment of their due salaries and DA pending for the past three months.

The resident doctors of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation-run hospital have not been paid for the last three months.

The nurses of the hospital are already on protest, working for half-day only from Tuesday over the salary issues. The nurses' union has stopped working from 9.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

Earlier, the Resident Doctors' Association (RDA) had announced a pen-down strike from November 11 asking for salaries to be released by the evening of November 10. However, after the assurance of Medical Superintendent and seeing the rising cases of Dengue in the city, the doctors postponed the strike.

However, the RDA doctors in a fresh letter to MSA have threatened to go on pen down strike on November 15,16 and 17 from 9 am to 12.30 pm and indefinite strike from November 18 if pending salaries and DA are not paid by evening of November 14.

Earlier, in a letter to the Medical Superintendent, the RDA doctors had said, "If our salaries and DA up to date are not released on or before November 14, we will go on pen-down strike strike on November 15, 16 and 17 from 9 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. and unfortunately, we will go on indefinite strike from November 18 Thursday."

Due to the ongoing tussle between the doctors, nurses and hospital administration, major activities of the hospital have been impacted. The operation theaters also remained closed and a large number of surgeries have been cancelled.

The MCD-run 980-bed Hindu Rao Hospital has over 50 per cent vacant posts for nurses and also a large number of vacancies for doctors.