Long-pending demands: Kerala govt medical college doctors to strike

Thiruvananthapuram: Doctors in government medical colleges in Kerala will go on strike on November 13 to press various long-pending demands, including salary revision and creation of new posts, PTI reported.

This was announced by the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers' Association (KGMCTA) here on Friday.

According to a Mathrubhumi report, the KGMCTA said that despite repeated appeals, the state government has not addressed major grievances.

KGMCTA had earlier conducted an outpatient (OP) boycott last month.

However, as the Health Department is yet to address the demands of the doctors, the association decided to hold the strike on November 13, members said.

KGMCTA members said that apart from emergency hospital services, other departments would participate in the protest.

The association is also demanding payment of salary arrears between 2016 and 2020, rectification of irregularities in the pay structure for entry-level doctors, creation of more posts in government medical colleges and improving infrastructure in government and medical colleges, according to PTI.

According to Mathrubhumi, doctors said that when pay revisions are meant to take place every ten years, the last revision due in 2016 was implemented only in 2020.

KGMCTA demanded that new doctor posts needed to be created in proportion to the patients instead of redeploying existing staff from older colleges to new institutions. The doctors' body said that such redeployments might fool the National Medical Commission into granting recognition, but fail to solve the problem of doctor shortages. This would leave both established and new medical colleges understaffed and poorly equipped. This will also disrupt patient care and deny quality treatment to the poor, Mathrubhumi reported.