Riku Amir

The monthly salary of 143 doctors of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) have been cancelled permanently.

According to sources, these doctors have not been paid their salary of March while other doctors and employees of (BSMMU) received their payment. When they met the Vice Chancellor, Professor Dr. Kamrul Hasan Khan to get clarification on the subject he told them, “If we keep paying these doctors it will be going against the High Court’s verdict. Therefore we have stopped paying them their salary.”

An unnamed administrative officer stated, “After the High Court’s verdict was given, these doctors have already lost their jobs so they will no longer get paid.”

The complete copy of the verdict had not reached the University Administration till Thursday. These doctors consider stopping their wages before getting the verdict is illogical. Feeling dejected, one of these doctors surmised, “We are still waiting for the complete copy of the verdict and are mentally prepared to file for a review. However, the matter of not getting salary has broken our spirits. We do not know what to do now.”

A writ was filed challenging the legality of BSMMU hiring 200 doctors without proper posts in 2010. When the High-Court declared these 200 doctors’ appointments illegal at that time, the doctors had appealed against this verdict. SK Sinha had suspended the verdict after the appeal. However the verdict was reverted back to the original one on February 22 of this year. 143 of 200 doctors are still working for the hospital now.

Translated by: Sumaiya Kabir