AIIMS faculty lash out at possible pay cut

NEW DELHI: Doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) are up in arms against the Centre's order that seeks to reduce their salaries and equate it with faculties at various prominent institutions like Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Management (IIMs).

According to sources, the faculty at various medical institutions such as AIIMS, PGIMER in Chandigarh and JIPMER in Puducherry are currently paid 10-13 per cent more than their counterparts at IITs and IIMs and about 20 per cent more than teachers at central universities.

Currently, while a professor at an AIIMS gets a salary of around Rs 2.20 lakh per month including housing rent allowance, an additional professor is entitled to around Rs 1.9 lakh.

The implementation of the new rule will lead to a dip of about Rs 10,000 -20,000 in their average salaries.

C S Bal, president of Faculty Association of AIIMS (FAIIMS), said, "The government's decision will end up slashing entry pay of doctors at top-line medical institutes in the country. This means that while all other Central government employees will see considerable rise in their salaries as they get benefitted from the Seventh pay panel, our salaries will see 10-13 per cent drop."

The changed rule is likely to impact the salaries of around 730 doctors at AIIMS, Delhi, over 250 doctors at six new AIIMS at Patna, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Raipur and Rishikesh.

FAIIMS has written to the Union Health Minister J P Nadda, demanding immediate intervention, and also asked the Union Finance Ministry to review the rule.

Nand Kumar, secretary, FAIIMS, said that the "ridiculous" decision is likely to trigger mass exodus of faculty at AIIMS and further discourage bright minds in the profession to join these institutes.

"17 doctors have quit AIIMS, Delhi in the last two years, while about 70 per cent posts of faculty lie vacant in new AIIMS in other cities. It is ridiculous that instead of making doctor friendly policies, the government has adopted a rule that will further alienate them," Kumar stated.