THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The doctors of government medical colleges who have been at loggerheads with the government over many issues, including salary dues since 2016, have planned to strengthen their protest from Wednesday. The agitation will be further intensified after two weeks if the grievances are not addressed. To begin with, the doctors will boycott all duties which are not directly connected with patients or academics.
They will stage meet at various medical college hospitals and boycott VIP duty, pay ward duty, extra duties, non-Covid and non-emergency meetings in protest against unkept promises regarding salary and allowance dues.
“At the same time, we will reach out to the patients with the pamphlets on why we were forced to conduct protest, on all days from March 3,” said Binoy S, state president of Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA). There will be a protest meet on March 10 when the doctors will hold a candle light protest in front of the Secretariat.
“If the government failed to address the demands, we will start boycotting out-patient service, elective surgeries and teaching for 24 hours on March 17,” said KGMCTA state secretary Nirmal Bhaskar. He, however, said the services in labour room, casualty, surgery, ward duty, Covid treatment will not be affected due to the strike.
The doctors were also irked with the government for not rectifying the salary anomalies in the entry cadre. They had started the strike on January 29 after the government announced the pay revision and dues payment for other government employees recently.