Kerala Medical College doctors to intensify protest over pending demands

Medical Dialogues recently reported that, protesting the State Government's failure to address long-pending demands, including delayed pay revisions and staff shortages, doctors have announced a boycott of outpatient services on October 28, 2025. The pending demands include rectifying anomalies in the entry-level pay structure, clearing arrears from the 2016 pay revision, creating new teaching and medical posts in recently established colleges, improving hospital infrastructure, releasing pending dearness allowance (DA) dues, and lifting what it called an “unfair” pension ceiling imposed on state-paid faculty.

On Wednesday, November 5, the third phase of the OPD boycott was observed across all government medical colleges. While the Government attempts to claim that OP services continue unhindered by deploying PG students and house surgeons, it is highly objectionable and misleading — patients referred by senior specialists from district hospitals cannot be adequately managed by house surgeons alone. Such actions are nothing but attempts to deceive the public.

Talking to Medical Dialogues, State President Dr. Rosnara Begum T stated, “Despite releasing arrears and allowances to other categories of government employees, the Government continues to discriminate against Medical College doctors, who stood at the frontline during the COVID pandemic.”

“Repeated written and verbal assurances from the Government have been continuously violated. The protest, which initially adopted symbolic and non-disruptive means, is now being escalated due to the Government’s persistent apathy. From now on, doctors will strictly adhere to official duty hours and will not perform any duty beyond scheduled timings. Only the number of patients who can be reasonably examined within the stipulated hours will be attended to,” the association further added.