BIRDEM doctors end strike, set deadline for meeting demands

FE Team | Published: July 02, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00

Doctors at Ibrahim Memorial Hospital (BIRDEM) Sunday returned to work after giving authorities a one-month deadline to regularise their jobs under the uniform service rules for all, reports bdnews24.com.
The doctors demanded that the decisions taken at the recent national council meeting of the Bangladesh Diabetic Association be formally made known to the doctors concerned within two days. They wanted their jobs to be regularised by July 30 under the hospital's service rules. They also demanded that no action be taken against the strikers.
However, the doctors observed another 2 hours 45 minutes work stoppage from 7.45 Sunday morning after having suspended their strike since Thursday evening.
Nazimul Islam, one of the doctors involved in the action, said the doctors assembled in the second floor auditorium of the BIRDEM at 7.45am to initiate work stoppage.
The doctors returned to work after hospital directors Ziauddin Ahmed and Nazmun Nahar told the striking doctors that their demands would be met.
BIRDEM sources said the number of admitted patients in the hospital had increased since the doctors' strike was suspended Thursday evening for two days. Hospital personnel requesting anonymity said 60 patients were admitted up to 3:00 pm Sunday.
About 300 doctors including registrars, assistant registrars and medical officers of the BIRDEM hospital's inpatient division had gone on a four-day strike from June 25 demanding regularisation of their jobs under the same service rules as for outpatient doctors.
They suspended their strike for two days following assurance of redress from the authorities. However, the strikers then announced that if the authorities did not meet their demands, they would commence an indefinite work stoppage action.
In its national council meeting, Bangladesh Diabetic Association, the highest policy-making body of Ibrahim Memorial Hospital, Saturday decided to review the services of the doctors every three years, extend contracts and make necessary rules for regularisation of jobs and implement uniform service rules for all doctors.