Kerala Medical College doctors to strike on November 13; emergency services exempted

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA) has announced that government medical college doctors across the state will go on strike on November 13, continuing their relay protest demanding long-pending pay revisions and better service conditions. Only emergency medical services will function on the day of the strike.

The KGMCTA said that despite repeated appeals, the state government has failed to address major grievances, including rectifying pay anomalies, clearing arrears from the 2016 pay revision, resolving acute staff shortages, and improving infrastructure in government medical colleges.

Doctors have pointed out that while pay revisions are meant to take place once every ten years, the last revision, due in 2016 was implemented only in 2020, and arrears remain unpaid for over four years. The association has also called for new doctor posts to be created in proportion to patient load rather than redeploying existing staff from older colleges to new institutions.

According to the KGMCTA, such redeployments “fool the National Medical Commission into granting recognition” but fail to solve the problem of doctor shortages, leaving both established and new medical colleges understaffed and poorly equipped. The group said this policy has disrupted patient care and denied quality treatment to the poor.

The November 13 strike is part of a relay protest that began in late October, with doctors boycotting outpatient (OP) clinics and suspending classes for medical students on October 28, November 5, November 13, November 21, and November 29.

The association has warned that the agitation could intensify into an indefinite strike if the government continues to ignore their demands.