The Telangana Junior Doctors Association (T-JUDA) has decided to suspend its indefinite strike, which was set to begin today, May 22, following a positive response from government officials. The decision was announced late Tuesday night after T-JUDA representatives met with state authorities.
On May 20, T-JUDA had issued a strike notice citing several longstanding issues. The notice followed a meeting between junior doctors and Dr. N. Vani, the Director of Medical Education in Telangana, where major concerns were discussed. The junior doctors highlighted persistent problems including:
Fair admission practices
Security issues in government hospitals
Inadequate hostel facilities
Delays in constructing essential medical infrastructure
Lack of basic amenities in numerous government medical colleges
The junior doctors also emphasized the chronic issue of delayed stipend payments, noting that stipends for March and April were still pending. This issue has been a recurring problem, with similar delays leading to protests in December 2023 when second and third-year junior residents did not receive their stipends on time.
In a statement, T-JUDA confirmed the temporary suspension of the strike, indicating they had received a constructive response from higher authorities regarding their demands. "Following the submission of a strike notice on May 20, 2024, the Telangana Junior Doctors Association has garnered a positive response from higher authorities regarding the raised demands. Consequently, the scheduled strike will be temporarily suspended pending further communication," the statement read.
The junior doctors had been prepared to halt services indefinitely to press for solutions to these issues. However, the recent dialogue with government officials has provided a hopeful outlook for addressing their concerns. The strike remains on hold until further notice, pending ongoing negotiations and actions from the state government.
