OP services, surgeries to stop as government medical college doctors begin indefinite strike

Kozhikode: Routine healthcare services at government medical colleges across Kerala are set to be disrupted as doctors have announced an indefinite strike over delayed salary revision arrears and unresolved service-related demands.

According to the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA), doctors will boycott outpatient (OP) services and suspend non-emergency surgeries from January 27. From February 2, teaching duties will also be boycotted along with OP services. The protest will intensify from February 9, when non-emergency surgeries will be halted indefinitely, while university examination duties will be boycotted from February 11.

The association clarified that essential services such as casualty care, labour rooms, ICUs, inpatient treatment, emergency surgeries and postmortem examinations will continue without disruption.

KGMCTA said the agitation is being launched due to the unjust delay in clearing salary revision arrears for medical college doctors, even as other state government employees have received full payments. Despite repeated assurances from the authorities, several long-pending issues remain unresolved.

Key demands include immediate settlement of arrears, correction of anomalies in the pay revision order, revision of pension ceilings in line with central government norms, withdrawal of temporary mass transfers, creation of adequate posts to improve hospital functioning, better infrastructure for patients and doctors, and payment of long-pending dearness allowance arrears.

The association said protests have been ongoing since July 1, 2025, but with no meaningful response from the government, doctors have decided to escalate their agitation.