Physiotherapists’ association holds protest for better pay

Members of the Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan Physiotherapists Association (SSAPA) staged a protest in Tiruchi demanding regularisation of service and improved pay scale on Monday.

Among the issues raised by the SSAPA were the regularisation of jobs of approximately 350 physiotherapists and 10 occupational therapists/speech therapists employed under the scheme and sanction of time scale of pay for them from the date of joining service.

Vacancies for physiotherapy positions in government departments should be filled without delay, and physiotherapists must be sanctioned Employee Provident Fund (EPF) benefits from the date of joining.

The association urged the government to make physiotherapists eligible for Employees’ State Insurance scheme benefits.

Paid medical leave for up to a year for those injured while in service, and maternity leave for female physiotherapists were among the other demands of the association.