By admin August 15, 2022
Big pay disparity between AYUSH, regular doctors
Practitioners rue about huge gap in budget allocation for AYUSH and allopathic medicine
Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy) doctors in government hospitals of India continue to be underpaid, despite being eligible for pay equal to allopathic doctors. Many doctors say they face many disparities other than salary differences.
“Ayush doctors face disparity at many levels; doctors get many benefits in a hospital from attending seminars to remunerations, and often they do not get to take advantage of those,” said Dr Radhe Krishna, research officer at the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of Ayush.
He also spoke about the huge gap in budget allocation for Ayush and allopathic medicine. Krishna added that although people are turning towards allopathy, many still prefer Ayurveda and homeopathy medication.
Aman (name changed), an allopathic doctor working in a government setup, said there is wage disparity at the government hospital. In a government setup, starting salary for allopathic doctors is around Rs 90,000. He urged that both be paid equally.
During Covid, Karnataka raised the salary of Ayush doctors to Rs 45,000 from Rs 25,000 for six months. Dr Simmi Dang, IBS Hospital, said that homeopathic doctors are not paid equally, but much less than allopathic doctors due to slow recovery time.
Dr Dang added that the recovery period for Ayush is much more diverse, despite it being slow, it’s quite efficient and less harmful.
Equal pay entitlement
The Supreme Court had last year ruled that allopathy and Ayush doctors working at government hospitals are entitled to equal pay, and if there is discrimination in pay, then it’s a violation of right to equality under Article 14.
Many reports had come where in Ayush doctors and ASHA workers in Karnataka were protesting for better pay. In a Public Health Centre (PHC), they were getting lower pay than the minimum wage.
Modern medicine and Ayush medicine are different streams, but their ultimate goal is the same. All doctors are professionals, and on the field nobody is inferior or superior.
The great help from MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH doctors made us fight against the pandemic and achieved success over it, said Dr Basil Issac of the Karnataka Central War Room.
Source: Express News Service
