Thiruvananthapuram: The government medical college hospital doctors and health services doctors have alleged that the state government has betrayed them by not rectifying the anomalies in the pay revision. Even though the government had promised to fulfil their demands to end their strike, it is yet to keep its word.
The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association (KGMCTA) and Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) have alleged that the government had neglected their demands when the anomalies were rectified in all other categories.
To protest against the government, KGMOA will observe a protest day on Monday and KGMCTA will observe betrayal day on March 3 across the state.
“The health and finance ministers had a discussion with us and they had assured us on clearing the arrears mounted while implementing the pay revision with retrospective effect from January 1, 2016. The government had agreed to clear the arrears from July1, 2017. But the government betrayed us by not providing this. We had called off the strike believing the words of the ministers,” said KGMCTA state president Dr S Binoy.
“The KGMCTA strike had not affected the patient care in the hospitals during the pandemic time. However, we were forced to call for an indefinite strike since the government had rectified the anomalies in the pay revision in all other departments. The government gave us an assurance that it will be rectified following which we had called off the agitation. But now the government has betrayed us,” said KGMCTA state secretary Dr Nirmal Bhaskar.
Similarly, KGMOA alleged that the pay revision had cut down the salary scale of the doctors in the health service and there has been repeated requests before the government to rectify this. “Even the promotional avenues of the doctors have been amended by the pay commission. However, the government ignored all our demands,” said KGMOA state president Dr G S Vijayakrishnan.
The association has decided to launch a non-cooperation strike by boycotting all the works outside the hospitals from March 1.