Government medical college doctors to go on indefinite strike

Doctors in government medical colleges across the State are moving towards an indefinite strike to protest against the government’s continued neglect of their several long-standing demands.

All teaching activities will be boycotted from January 13, and all non-emergency medical services in medical college hospitals will be discontinued from the week after.

On January 19, the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA) will stage a dharna in front of the Secretariat, reiterating their demands.

Essential medical care services including casualty, labour room, ICU, in-patient care, other emergency treatments, emergency surgeries, and post-mortem examinations will be excluded from the protest, the KGMCTA said here on Thursday.

In a statement here, the KGMCTA said that none of the assurances given by the government so far regarding the long-pending demands of doctors — rectification of anomalies in the pay revision order, disbursement of salary and DA arrears pending since 2016, avoidance of temporary and mass transfers, creation of adequate faculty posts, and sufficient facilities for faculty and patients in medical college hospitals — have failed to materialise, even though the doctors have been on protest since July 2025.

Doctors had later intensified their agitation, organising overt protest programmes as well as relay boycott of outpatient services over several weeks.

The KGMCTA said that even though the Health Minister had convened a meeting with doctors on November 10, and assurances had been given regarding the speedy redressal of the grievances raised by them, nothing materialised.

It said that doctors were being forced into this strike and that they had no options left before them but to intensify their agitation.

So far, apart from giving assurances time and again, there has been no constructive efforts on the part of the government to resolve the issues of doctors. Doctors will also continue their work-to-rule agitation and non-cooperation with the government, KGMCTA State president Rosenara Beegum T. and General Secretary Aravind C.S., said in the statement.