Kerala Doctors Strike Today: OPDs Shut as KGMCTA Demands Pay Arrear

Doctors across all government medical colleges in Kerala, led by the Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA), have launched an indefinite strike starting today, February 2. As part of the first phase, doctors are boycotting all Outpatient (OPD) services and teaching duties, causing significant disruptions to non-emergency patient care. However, essential services like Casualty, ICU, Labour Rooms, and emergency surgeries remain functional to ensure critical patients are not abandoned.

The strike stems from the government’s failure to address long-standing demands regarding pay revision arrears pending since 2016. Although the Health and Finance Ministers held talks last month, the subsequent government order offered only a “partial allowance” instead of the full arrears and failed to rectify pay anomalies. The association has rejected this as “total neglect,” especially since other government employees have already received their dues.

Escalation Plan: The KGMCTA has announced a strict escalation timeline if their demands are not met immediately. Following the OPD boycott today, they plan to suspend all non-emergency surgeries and treatments starting February 9, followed by a boycott of university examination duties from February 11.

Update(as of 3 feb): The indefinite strike (OPD boycott) that started yesterday has been suspended (deferred) for one week as of this morning. Late-night talks (Monday night) between the KGMCTA and the State Government were successful. The government has promised to issue an order today (Feb 3) to correct the pay scale anomalies for entry-level doctors