BSMMU trainee doctors to resume services after 12 days of protest

Physicians under the postgraduate residency programmes at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University have reversed their earlier stance on a “frustrating” increase in monthly allowances and decided to resume services.

The physicians will return to work on Saturday, Dr Jabir Hossain, president of the Postgraduate Trainee Doctors Association, said at a media briefing in Dhaka on Thursday. “They are returning to work but the physicians still have some conditions and demands. We will submit a memorandum to the unit chiefs.”

On Sunday, the government raised the monthly wage by Tk 5,000 to Tk 25,000 for nearly 8,000 trainees after a 12-day campaign for better pay, reports bdnews24.com.

Jabir Hossain threatened that the doctors would resume the protest if their other demands were not met.

In June, at least 500 physicians attending BSMMU postgraduate residency programmes, who are not on the government payroll and are considered private physicians, launched a demonstration for increased allowances, timely payments and back pay.

The demonstrating doctors sought Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s intervention to settle the standoff with the authorities over their pay.

Earlier this month, the demonstrating doctors had threatened an indefinite work stoppage from Jul 8 over the “shocking” state of their allowances. Since then, they have staged a sit-in at Central Shaheed Minar and observed a one-day work abstention.