Covid-19: Centre directs states, UTs to release salaries of doctors, health workers on time

On June 10, healthcare workers at North MCD hospitals, polyclinics, and maternity homes in Delhi had threatened strike alleging that they were not being paid for at least two months.

Following the Supreme Court’s direction, the Centre Thursday asked the states and Union Territories (UTs) to ensure that the salaries of doctors and health workers doing Covid-related duties are released on time, adding that any violation in this regard will be treated as a punishable offence.

On Wednesday, a bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan, S K Kaul and M R Shah had directed the government to issue an appropriate direction to the Chief Secretary of the States/Union Territories to ensure that the orders are faithfully complied with, violation of which may be treated as an offence under the Disaster Management Act, 2005 and appropriate action would be taken against the defaulting hospital.

Pursuant to Supreme Court directions, Centre directs states & UT’s to ensure that salaries of doctors & health workers doing Covid related duty are released on time. Chief Sec to ensure compliance; failure to comply will be treated as offence @IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/yYMTqefr2V

— Ananthakrishnan G (@axidentaljourno) June 18, 2020

The court’s direction came on a PIL filed by a doctor which said that doctors and health workers are not receiving their salaries regularly.

Advocate K V Vishwanathan, appearing for the petitioner, had submitted that with regard to quarantine, there are no details of appropriate accommodation and that doctors or health workers, who are directly looking after patients in Covid-19 wards are not given the quarantine facility as per guidelines unless they are covered by high-risk exposure. He also contended that doctors who deal with Covid-19 patients, even with protective kits, need quarantine facility to protect themselves and their families.

On June 10, healthcare workers at North MCD hospitals, polyclinics, and maternity homes in Delhi had threatened strike, alleging that they were not being paid for at least three months.

The apex court had also pulled up the Delhi government over the suspension of healthcare workers for exposing facts related to the condition in hospitals while saying that doctors and nurses were “corona warriors” and needed to be protected.