Nagaland Doctors Start 3-Day Mass Casual Leave Demanding Retirement age Increase

Doctors in Nagaland on Monday began a three-day campaign of mass casual leaves to protest against the state government’s inaction over increasing the retirement age of medical doctors from 60 years to 62 years, the EastMojo reported.

The protest was called by the Nagaland In-Service Doctors Association (NIDA) after the completion of the one-year period, by which the Chief Secretary had assured that the matter regarding the superannuation of the medical doctors would be resolved. NIDA now demands to raise the retirement age to 62 years.

The Nagaland government said on Saturday that it will not approve 'casual leaves' of doctors joining the stir. In a statement, the Chief Secretary of the state said while referring to rule 25 of the Nagaland Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1968, that leaves would not be granted to the protesting doctors, news agency ANI reported. The rule 25 prohibits government servants’ participation in strike, mass casual leave or any form of abetting a strike.

The statement also noted  that maintenance of public health and sanitation , including hospitals and dispensaries, are essential services under the Nagaland Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1978.

However, a committee under the chairmanship of of Chief Secretary J Alam is also holding deliberations with NIDA and other stakeholders, according to the report.

The protest is taking place despite the state government warning of penal action against erring employees.

Nonetheless, doctors at the Naga Hospital Authority, Kohima, the lone district hospital in the capital city, told EastMojo that despite the mass casual leave, all doctors are there to ensure that emergency medical care of patients is taken care of; only the routine Outpatient department (OPD) has been stopped.

Further, immunisation services, COVID-19 tests, and the treatment of all serious and emergency patients and patients admitted to the wards and Intensive Care Unit (ICU) continue by respective department doctors. 

“We have been waiting patiently, and now we are forced to take action against our will. Denial of service to the patients is the last resort for us doctors,” a doctor told EastMojo on the condition of anonymity. 

The government’s move to deploy police personnel at the hospital to monitor the situation surprised the doctors, they told to the news publication. However, no law and order situation has been reported from Kohima district, the EastMojo report said.

In case the government fails to respond to the demands of the doctors even after the three-day protest, they have threatened to cease work indefinitely.