The trade union alliance representing health staff members across hospitals nationwide has announced a continuous strike starting from 6:30 tomorrow (13) morning, demanding the DAT allowance be extended to all health professionals, not just doctors.
Ravi Kumudesh, the convenor of the trade union alliance, stated that the decision to strike was made following unsuccessful negotiations today (12) between Finance Ministry officials, Health Ministry officials, and trade union representatives.
The strike is expected to impact hospital operations, with accidents departments remaining functional while outpatient treatments, clinical procedures, and planned surgeries will be suspended.
The alliance members argue that it is unfair to grant a DAT allowance of Rs 35,000 exclusively to doctors, while other health services personnel are left without this benefit. They express frustration over authorities’ reluctance to consider aligning the allowance with the basic salary of all health professionals.
However, it’s clarified that certain specialized hospitals, including children’s hospitals, maternity hospitals, cancer hospitals, kidney hospitals, and the central blood bank, will not participate in the strike action.
