Medical interns at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) have refused to sign the two-year bond contract due to lack of an official Civil Service designation for them.
Earlier in April 2023, the Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced an allowance for medical and dental interns to “endorse the development of Maldivian professionals in the health sector”.
While the government ordered the allowance to be made effective from May 2023 onwards, IGMH have yet to provide the said allowances for the interns.
The hospital meanwhile, made an attempt to sign contracts with the interns two weeks back. According to the proposed contract, interns would be entitled to a daily allowance of MVR 400 for work attendance.
As per the contract terms, interns are required to work for 8-12 hours per day, including a 32-hour shift over two days. Despite this, the contract does not provide any additional allowances or benefits for the interns whilst demanding working conditions similar to permanent employees.
The interns have also raised concerns over the two-year bond requirement, despite being excluded from the Civil Service pay framework. Additionally, the interns are expected to repay the entirety of the allowances they received during their internship if they decide to drop out.
The first batch of interns at IGMH consisted of 35 doctors, who all refused to sign the contract due to the said concerns.
“Though this is a government-stipulated allowance, if the agreement is terminated then the intern is required to repay the allowances they were paid. On the other hand, the contract duration is two years, but the contract does not specify the conditions that should be met if an intern wishes to pursue further education during their internship period,” an intern doctor raised their concern.
The intern also noted that IGMH do not offer them a formal working title citing that it does not fit the Civil Service pay framework, but added that they must adhere to the same policies as regular doctors.
Another concern raised by the interns is the requirement by IGMH for those who fail or drop out of the internship without a valid reason, to repay the hospital’s expenses with a 5% interest in lump sum.
Moreover, interns who have completed their internship but have not fulfilled their government service obligations, and those who terminate their contract midway through the internship, are required to repay the hospital’s expenses with an additional 25% interest in lump sum.
In cases where the internship contract is terminated halfway or after completion due to unforeseeable circumstances or for valid reasons, the intern is subject to repay IGMH’s expenses based on a mutually agreed repayment plan.