In a five-hour meeting that lasted till late Friday night, the hospital management agreed to restructure the salaries of the doctors. [break]
As per the new structures, monthly remuneration comprises of 40 percent basic salary and 60 percent allowances compared to 24 and 76 percent respectively, earlier.
In response to the management´s readiness to restructure their salaries, the doctors, who were demanding a 30 percent hike in salary, settled for an increment of 15 percent in their pay scales.
“We showed flexibility after the management agreed to increase the basic salary to 40 percent from 24 per cent,” Dr Dipak Koirala, coordinator of All Nepal Progressive Health Workers´ Association, said.
“The restructuring of salary is a major achievement for us.”
The doctors had been refusing to call off their strike in the earlier negotiations even though the management agreed to hike their salaries by 12 per cent. According to Dr Koirala, a 12 percent increment would have raised the salaries of junior and senior doctors by Rs 8,500 and Rs 7,500 respectively. Now, with a 15 per cent hike and a new salary structure, salary of every doctor has been increased by at least Rs 10,000.
All services except the emergency were halted due to the doctors´ strike. The talks between the management and the doctors failed at least twice until the matter was settled on Friday.
Early last week, the District Administration Office (DAO) of Kaski had unlocked the doors padlocked by the agitating doctors with the help of police. But services could not resume as doctors refused to join their duties.
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