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by IANS |
Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 7 (IANS) Doctors, under the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers' Association (KGMCTA), have called for a "complete strike" on November 13, withdrawing from all duties except emergency services.
There are 12 state-run medical colleges in Kerala, which have a bed strength of around 5,000.
The association said the decision came after the state government "failed" to respond to repeated appeals for talks despite weeks of peaceful protests.
The KGMCTA said the government had chosen to "turn a blind eye" to their genuine grievances and had instead adopted an undemocratic and disparaging attitude towards the medical teaching community.
"This approach is a challenge not only to doctors but also to the general public who rely on government medical colleges for quality treatment," the association said.
The KGMCTA clarified that its agitation was initially designed to avoid inconvenience to patients.
However, with the government maintaining "silence", the association said it was compelled to escalate to a boycott of outpatient (OP) services.
During the earlier three-day OP boycott, even patients referred from distant regions for specialist care could be attended to only by postgraduate students, offering limited temporary treatment.
The association alleged that despite this "clear signal of distress", the government neither initiated discussions nor showed any willingness to resolve the issue.
It warned that the responsibility for any inconvenience caused to the public during the strike would rest squarely with the government.
The KGMCTA's principal demand is the correction of pay anomalies in entry-level positions in government medical colleges.
The association said these disparities have persisted for years, undermining morale and widening pay gaps between medical teachers and their counterparts in other government services.
The strike call marks a sharp escalation in the ongoing standoff between the government and medical college faculty, and comes amid growing concern over the impact such protests could have on patient care across the state's teaching hospitals.
--IANS
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