At least 61 per cent doctors at private hospitals have not been receiving their salaries on time amid the coronavirus shutdown, a survey has found.
The survey, run by Bangladesh Doctors Foundation (BDF), also revealed that 83.8 per cent of doctors are yet to get the bonuses for Eid-ul-Fitr.
The online survey from May 13 to 15 recorded responses from 519 doctors, said BDF.
Most of the doctors from 30 medical colleges and hospitals that bdnews24.com has contacted, backed up the findings of the survey.
Incidents of back pay, partial payment of salaries, downscaling of duty rosters and terminating doctors altogether have increased during the health crisis, the doctors, asking not to be named, alleged.
The bdnews24.com news agency has also found some evidence that corroborate their claims.
Mubin Khan, president of Bangladesh Private Medical College Association, however, refuted the allegations, saying none of the medical colleges has left their doctors unpaid.
“No-one has complained to us. We believe this survey has been done by a quarter with a vested interest.”
The government are aware of the issue but it cannot intervene due to legal constraints, said Health Minister Zahid Malik.
“I’ll say that they should pay the doctors their salaries,” said Malik.
Doctors in Holy Family Red Crescent Medical College claim they are owed at least four months' salaries.
One of them said he was last paid in December.
“We have tried to negotiate but the authority keeps stalling, citing a fund crunch as an excuse. How are we going to survive without our salaries?”
The failure to promptly clear doctors' dues has caused a salary backlog, according to an associate professor in US-Bangla Medical College. “We received our salary for December on Apr 23, five months behind schedule. The doctors coming from the public hospitals aren't having too many issues but junior doctors like us, who are dependent on our salaries, are struggling.”
Bangladesh reported its first cases of a rampant coronavirus outbreak on Mar 8 but academic sessions Dhaka Central International Medical College Hospital continued until Mar 24, a professor of the medical college told bdnews24.com. The 120 teachers at the medical college only received half of their salaries on Mar 12.
“We received the remainder of our salary for March on May 14. We haven't received any payment since then. We have appealed for our salaries but the authority said they’re unable to pay, adding that April's salary will be paid on a priority basis. None of us got any bonus,” the professor said.
The economic strains resulting from the ongoing novel coronavirus crisis have hamstrung hospitals' ability to pay their staffers, according to Prof Abdul Hai Chowdhury, chairman of Dhaka Central International Medical College Hospital.
“Salaries will go unpaid for the foreseeable future. We can't do anything about it. All salaries and allowances will be paid when things return to normal.”
A salary crunch is also affecting doctors at City Medical College, one of whom said he has not been paid since May 2019. The authorities had promised to clear the back pay after the admission of new students in December but that never happened, according to him.
“We have only managed to survive because of our private practice,” he said.
Doctors in Kumudini Women’s Medical College are in a similar predicament, with the last payment there being made in March this year.
“Many of the doctors went home. Many of them travel great distances to get to the hospital every day and get harassed by the police on the streets. Also, there’s a scarcity of transports in the streets during the shutdown. The authorities said they’ll pay the salaries based on attendance. This hospital is run by a trust and has an annual budget. Why would they fail to pay our salaries?”
But Md Abdul Halim, principal of Kumudini Women’s Medical College, said he was not the right person to talk to when contacted about the matter by bdnews24.com.
“You can talk to our management in Dhaka. I’ll provide you with the contact number,” he said. But bdnews24.com is yet to receive the contact details.
