Trainee doctors join nationwide work stoppage movement supporting six-point demands

The ongoing unrest in the country's medical sector intensified as postgraduate trainee doctors from several medical college hospitals announced a work stoppage in support of a six-point demand charter, a day after intern doctors launched a nationwide strike.

In separate statements issued late Sunday (June 7), trainee doctors from multiple institutions, including Bangladesh Medical University (BMU), declared that they would suspend work until their demands are addressed. Private postgraduate trainees affiliated with BMU also joined the movement.

As of early Monday, trainee doctors from Bangladesh Medical University, Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital, Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital in Barishal, Khulna Medical College Hospital, Cumilla Medical College Hospital, Mymensingh Medical College Hospital and Noakhali Medical College Hospital had confirmed participation in the work stoppage.

The latest development comes after intern doctors across the country began a strike on Sunday morning, while medical students continued class boycotts in support of the same demands.

Amid the escalating protests, a 12-member delegation of intern doctors is scheduled to meet the Health Secretary on Monday in an effort to resolve the crisis.

The six-point demand package includes the cancellation of a proposed policy for the placement of private FCPS Part-I qualified trainees; reducing admission fees for Bangladesh Medical University (BMU) and the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS) examinations to between Tk 500 and Tk 1,000; increasing intern allowances to a minimum of Tk 30,000 under the new pay scale; placing trainee doctors in the ninth pay grade; enacting a Health Protection Act; raising the age limit for entry into BCS Health Service jobs to 34 years; and introducing a clear salary structure for doctors employed in private healthcare institutions in line with the Labour Act 2006.

With intern doctors, postgraduate trainees and medical students now united in the movement, pressure is mounting on health authorities to engage in dialogue and address the demands before healthcare services face further disruption across the country.