Maharashtra: MBBS interns demand Rs 50,000 per month incentive for COVID pandemic period

Pune, 19 July 2020: The Association of State Medical Interns (ASMI) has written to the Maharashtra state government to provide Rs 50,000 incentive per month to MBBS interns, who are performing duty on the frontline in this coronavirus disease (COVID19) pandemic. They have pointed out payments to interns in Mumbai by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM).

The MBBS interns were getting Rs 6000 per month which was hiked to Rs 11,000 few months ago. The interns have to slog for over 15 hours daily in the wards. There are about 2,000 MBBS interns in the state.

ASMI letter states, “We, the interns of Government Medical Colleges across the state have been working in this COVID-19 pandemic- from fever OPDs to COVID wards, despite the difficulties of transport due to lockdown, without any 7-7 day duty-quarantine schedule all while being potentially exposed to COVID positive patients.

Interns posted in other departments are also at a high risk of being exposed to undiagnosed/asymptomatic covid patients. Given the mentioned scenario, we believe an incentive would serve a moral booster to all the interns in the state.

Student nurses are granted Rs 20,000/month incentive, MBBS doctors/ MOs/AMOs are getting Rs 80,000/month for working in this pandemic. Our work equates to theirs and hence we believe that MBBS interns deserve an incentive of Rs 50,000/month for the duration of the pandemic. Interns in MCGM colleges (KEM Hospital, Sion Hospital, Cooper Hospital and KEM Hospital) have been granted Rs 50,000/month for the duration of this pandemic (inclusive of stipend). We humbly request you to grant us Rs 50,000/month incentive during this pandemic and neutralize the disparity in pay so that we get what we deserve.”