The postgraduate trainee doctors of private hospitals have left Shahbagh accepting the government's decision to increase their allowance to Tk35,000 from July, reports TBS.
Earlier in the day a notification signed by Syed Ali Bin Hasan, deputy secretary of the Finance Department of the Ministry of Finance, was published according to which their allowance will be Tk35,000 from July and according to a previous notification, it would be Tk30,000 from January.
However, the trainee doctors gathered at Shahbagh demanding the pay hike from January moving away from their previous demand of increasing their allowance to Tk50,000.
Earlier, the allowance was increased to Tk30,000 from Tk25,000 amid protests but the protesters rejected it and continued their demonstrations.
Yesterday they again blocked Shahbagh demanding an increase of allowance to Tk50,000.
Across the country, about 8,000 private trainee doctors are working in various public hospitals while pursuing advanced education.
They are prohibited from engaging in private practice during their studies and are paid a monthly allowance of Tk25,000
Protesting doctors yesterday said many postgraduate trainees, aged 30 to 35, are married and supporting families without the option of practising privately. Many struggle to cover their personal and family expenses.
They mentioned that postgraduate trainee doctors get Tk67,000 in India and Tk38,000 in Pakistan.
In Bangladesh, government postgraduate trainees receive a monthly allowance as per Grade 9, which is around Tk38,000, significantly higher than those in private.
Bd-Pratidin English/ARK
