Kerala - Kochi   

Strike: pay-ward admissions to stop

KOCHI: Government doctors will continue their strike against the anomalies in the pay structure.

At a press conference here on Sunday, representatives of the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association said they would not intensify the agitation in a way that would affect the common man. But pay-ward admissions would be stopped from Tuesday as announced earlier.

Sunny P. Orathel, president of the association, said the doctors would not report for Sabarimala duty. If the government demanded, they would come up with an alternative arrangement within 24 hours for extending medical facilities to the pilgrims.

The government would find it difficult to get medical hand to serve the pilgrims, he said. It had drawn doctors from medical colleges and the National Rural Health Mission to provide medical service to pilgrims, as 30 doctors from the Health Services failed to report for Sabarimala duty as part of the strike.

The association would observe ‘solidarity week’ starting Wednesday in support of the suspended doctors. The doctors would stop taking applications for the medical board for certifying disability from Monday. However, all applications received till date would be considered, he said.

Dr. Orathel said the doctors had been pointing out the anomalies in the salary structure from 1993.

However, no upward revision of salary had taken place so far, and instead the last Pay Commission had lowered the salary of doctors. The government had also failed to implement the recommendations of a committee that was set up last year to study the anomalies in the pay structure and postings.

The KGMOA had gone on strike last year for six months before the government agreed to set up the committee. But, with the government dithering on implementing what the committee had recommended, the doctors took to strike again from October 1 last.

Mr. Orathel said that government doctors would give up private practice if their salaries were hiked. The entry-level doctor in the health services drew just over Rs.11,000, a pittance when compared to what one earned in the private sector.

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