Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Government action condemned

Thiruvananthapuram: The medical fraternity in the State has come together to condemn the government’s attempts to crush the doctors’ strike through intimidation.

The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association and the Indian Medical Association have expressed their strong protest at the manner in which the government was handling the strike and said that the government was paving the way for a total collapse of the public health sector by being vengeful towards doctors.

The government had issued immediate transfer notices to 16 doctors in the Thiruvananthapuram district who took part in the strike on Thursday

In a strongly worded statement, the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) said that the doctors would be forced to go on indefinite strike if the government did not withdraw its disciplinary measures.

KGMOA said that when the doctors had gone on a day’s token strike after giving advance notice to the government, it was pathetic that the government resorted to “surprise inspections” on the same day and took disciplinary action against doctors.

It also accused the government of being selective in preparing the transfer list of doctors. The doctors who had gone on a day’s strike after ensuring that emergency patient care services were not affected were being punished while State government employees who went on strike were rewarded by offering them casual leave, KGMOA reminded.

In a statement here, the State Employees’ and Teachers’ Organisation said that the government’s adamant stance against the just demands of doctors and its attempts to take vengeful measures against doctors was suicidal at a time when the State was gearing up to tackle infectious disease epidemics.

It demanded that the Chief Minister intervene immediately to settle the stir and prevent doctors from going on indefinite strike.

The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers Association termed the disciplinary action as ill-motivated and condemnable.

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