Medical college docs hold 1-hr token strike

Some doctors at Government Medical College were on an hour-long token strike on Friday demanding pay revision.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Some doctors at Government Medical College were on an hour-long token strike on Friday demanding pay revision. The strike was called by doctors under the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA). According to Dr Suresh Babu V K, president, KGMCTA, the doctor’s pay in the medical colleges was last revised in 2006. “The new pay revision should have come into effect in 2016. However, even now the draft of the pay revision is in the DME office, and is being delayed,” he said.

He cautioned that if a decision was not taken within two weeks, they will be forced to strike work. “We have knocked on all doors in the past three years and are left with no other option, “ he said. In Thiruvananthapuram, the doctors marched from the medical college premises to the Directorate of Medical Education (DME). Teaching and out-patient facilities were boycotted for an hour. The strikers ensured that casualty and other services were not affected. Protests were also staged in front of the principal’s office in most of the medical colleges. 

However, Kerala Government Postgraduate Medical Teachers Association (KGPMTA) opposed the strike and stayed away. “The strike is untimely. While we are also equally eager about the pay revision, this strike seems an immature step and has inconvenienced the patients at many places,” KGPMTA secretary Dr Jeji G said. However, it seems they too might resort to a strike if the issue was not resolved soon. “If a solution is not reached in the coming days, we might also be forced to go on a strike,” said Dr Jeji. 

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