The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Talks between State, medicos inconclusive

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Thursday, Jul 09, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Talks between State, medicos inconclusive

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: Talks remained inconclusive on Wednesday night with the striking medicos refusing to relent on their stand — to be told exactly how much the future increase in stipend would amount to.

After a meeting with Health Minister M.R.K. Panneerselvam and other health officials, the stalemate continued, with the government sticking to its demand that the non-service medical and dental P.G. students, house surgeons and super specialists give up their strike before further negotiations were undertaken.

The medicos’ representatives said that a decision would have to be taken by their general body, and the issue remained unresolved. The strike was expected to continue on Thursday.

Karunanidhi’s assurance

Earlier, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi told the Assembly that the Health Minister would hold talks with the medicos on the stipend issue.

“If they are willing to come, he (Mr. Paneerselvam) will conduct negotiations,” Mr. Karunanidhi said, calling upon those who wanted the strike to continue to give up the thought.

He was concluding a debate on a special call attention notice on the week-long-agitation of non-service medical, dental post-graduate trainees, house surgeons and super specialty students.

Chiding the medicos for the manner in which they went ahead with their agitation, the Chief Minister wondered whether they had met him or the Health Minister before proceeding with their plan.

Referring to the comparison made by members of the House with regard to stipend paid to the medicos in the State with the situation in other States, he said the number of such persons in the State was higher.

The Chief Minister said that in other States, house surgeons were treated like doctors (in service) and paid salary.

D. Jayakumar (All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam), S. Peter Alphonse (Congress), T. Velmurugan (Pattali Makkal Katchi), V. Sivapunniyam (Communist Party of India), P. Dilli Babu (CPI-M) and Sadhan Thirumalai Kumar (Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam) called upon the government to resolve the issue at the earliest saying the functioning of government hospitals had been badly affected.

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