Kerala doctors to go on token strike over pay revision

Commenting on the issue, the President of Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA), Dr. Binoy S told Medical Dialogues, " We will go on a strike but OP work and emergency services will not be disrupted. We are considering the protest as government is taking no steps to implement the pay revision of doctors. We intended to intensify the agitation till the issues they were raising were resolved favourably. Almost 30% of the doctors have not received the revised payslip." It is also our concern that though the revised pay has not been implemented, the basic pay of the doctors who joined the services before 2016 has been cut down by Rs 6000 for MBBS, for PG Rs12000 and for super facility Rs 18000."

KGMCTA further added, " Despite pointing out various shortcomings in the reforms, the government is yet to address them. The KGMCTA is of the view that this is a betrayal with the medical college doctors who play a commendable role in tackling the COVID. A year after the order was issued, teachers of government medical colleges in Kerala have decided to hold a protest march on Tuesday, November 9, in front of the principals of all government medical colleges and in front of their offices to protest against such negligent treatment on the part of the government. The protest will be conducted in a manner that does not affect the care of the patient, in accordance with the COVID protocol."

The organization urged the government to address various issues related to promotions and transfers as soon as possible, along with the main need to address the shortcomings related to salary reform. The other demands of the medical faculty members includes correcting the discrepancies in the salary scale of the entry cadre, rearranging the current extended period for promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor and so on. The doctors also suggested that medical college doctors should not be transferred from existing medical colleges to newly started medical colleges thoughtlessly.

The doctors further demanded correction of any discrepancies in the UGC regulations relating to promotion, making of the pay slip as per the revised order available to all teachers as soon as possible, distribution of the revised salary, benefits and salary arrears without delay and making the updated DA available to all doctors immediately. Moreover, they also highlighted the issue of reassigning the pay level of Professors (Cadre / CAP) with more than 10 years of service to Level 15. The period for an Associate Professor to become an Additional Professor should be shortened to 3 years from 1/1/2016.

The protesting doctors have been demanding Immediate implementation of time-bound promotions that have been stalled for a long time and a regular promotions without delay.

"All Additional Professors should be renamed as Professors (CAP) from the date of becoming Additional Professor", stated the association in the press release. Thus, the association has pointed out various anomalies in the pay revision order. Dr. Binoy stated that the association would consider the further steps to highlight its demands after tomorrow's strike.