The government has formed a high-level committee to develop a "reasonable, coordinated and dignified" salary structure for entry-level doctors working in private hospitals, clinics, medical and dental colleges amid longstanding concerns over low pay and poor working conditions in the private healthcare sector.

According to a notification issued by the Health Education and Family Welfare Division today, the seven-member committee, headed by the director general of the Directorate General of Medical Education (DGME), has been tasked with reviewing existing salaries, allowances and other financial benefits provided to entry-level doctors in private hospitals, clinics, medical colleges and dental colleges across Bangladesh.

The committee was constituted following a meeting between senior health officials and representatives of intern and postgraduate doctors yesterday.

The committee will collect relevant data, consult stakeholders and prepare a draft salary structure aimed at ensuring fair and respectable remuneration for newly recruited doctors.

Other members of the committee include joint secretaries from the Health Services Division and the Health Education and Family Welfare Division, and directors responsible for medical education, hospitals and human resource management. The committee may co-opt additional members if necessary.

It has been asked to submit its report, along with recommendations for implementing the proposed pay structure, to the secretary of the Health Education and Family Welfare Division within 20 working days.

The move comes in response to demands raised by intern and postgraduate doctors regarding wages and working conditions in private healthcare institutions, where entry-level doctors often receive significantly lower salaries than their counterparts in the public sector.

The intern and postgraduate doctors suspended their work abstention after receiving assurances from health authorities that their key demands would be addressed within seven working days.

As part of the agreement, Health Secretary Quamruzzaman Chowdhury today wrote to the Ministry of Public Administration, seeking necessary steps to extend the age limit for entry into the BCS health cadre.

The ministry also wrote to Bangladesh Medical University and the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS), requesting a review of various examination fees and their adjustment to a reasonable level.