KATHMANDU, Jan 16: KIST Medical College of Lalitpur, which remained closed for a month after its employees padlocked the college and its teaching hospital demanding a hike in salary, is opening from Tuesday after Patan High Court issued an order to open the hospital immediately. 

The in-house trade unions of the left alliance had padlocked the medical college 32 days ago demanding a pay hike of staffers by Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000. But The college proposed to increase the monthly salary of non-teaching staff by Rs 1,000, lecturers by Rs 1,500 and professors by Rs 2,000.

Sources at the college said that classes, as well as medical services, will resume from Tuesday following the Patan High Court's order

“We received the court's order yesterday. The court has clearly mentioned that the hospital's service is essential and has ordered the concerned bodies not to create any obstruction in its smooth operation,” said Akshyaya Gautam, chief administrator and spokesman of KIST Medical College. 

“We have asked the teaching and non-teaching staff and students to attend the classes and resume hospital service from tomorrow,” he told Republica on Monday.
The college issued a notice urging the staffers to resume their jobs and students to resume classes from January 16, according to the KIST authorities.

There are more than 600 staffers including over 400 non-teaching staff in the medical college.  The medical college has an enrollment capacity of 90 students every year.

About 600 patients in average used to come to the teaching hospital on a daily basis before the shutdown. The hospital has a total capacity of 708 beds. 

The salaries of the staffers had been increased two years ago. The employees are demanding to hold talks to settle down the salary issue. The college authority has said that it would review the salaries as per the labor laws. 

“The government increases salaries in every two years as per the recommendation of the Pay Commission. We will also increase the salary as per our capacity,” Gautam claimed.

 
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