Karnataka Doctors call off planned strike after government assurances

Bengaluru: The Karnataka Government Medical Officers Association on Tuesday called off its planned indefinite strike scheduled to begin on March 11, after the State Government assured that their demands would be met. 

Earlier, the association had warned that in the first phase of the strike from March 11 to 15, outpatient services will be stopped while emergency services continue, and from March 16 onwards, doctors, officers and employees will abstain from duty until their demands are met.

Ahead of the strike, the Karnataka government called the association members to end the stalemate, where the decision was taken, sources in the Health Department said, news agency PTI reported. 

According to the state president of the Association, Dr Ravindra Meti, the state government agreed to fulfill 13 out of 14 demands.

The government also agreed to create an Additional Secretary post in the department, who will be a technical person. This was one of the long-standing demands. The government agreed to meet our demand in a time-bound manner, Meti told PTI.

“The government said it will complete it within that time limit. Therefore, for the time being, we are postponing the protest. If they do not complete it within the stipulated time, we will decide later,” the Medical Officer said.

In a representation to the government in the past, the associations noted that 36,397 officers and employees currently serve in the Health and Family Welfare Department, providing healthcare to nearly six crore people, but vacancies, retirements and lack of recruitment have significantly increased the workload on existing staff.

The associations alleged that despite holding several meetings with the departmental minister and senior officials and offering constructive suggestions, their concerns have not been addressed.

They also claimed that in some cases, even the minutes of meetings chaired by the head of the department were not recorded, emphasising what employees described as official apathy towards resolving staff issues.

Among their key demands are amendments to the Cadre and Recruitment Rules, publication of updated seniority lists, which have reportedly not been revised for around 13 years, and timely promotions for eligible doctors and staff.

The associations also raised concerns over the suspension of in-service higher education opportunities, irregular transfers, shortage of medicines in hospitals, and failure to fill nearly 40 per cent of sanctioned posts, which were created based on 1998 population statistics.