Kozhikode : Doctors working in Kerala’s health department will go on an indefinite strike from May 22 to protest “anomalies” in their salary scales.
The state committee of the Kerala Government Medical Officers’ Association (KGMOA) took the decision here Sunday.
A majority of doctors in the government serviceare members of the association and the strike could cripple public health care in the state-run hospitals.
According to the KGMOA, the doctors get Rs.4,050 less in salary compared to officials of the same rank in other state government departments.
“We were demanding this (removing anomalies in salary scales) for the last two years. The association went on strikes twice over the issue. Both were one-day strikes. The first one was on April 17, 2006 and the second one was May 15 this year,” KGMOA president Manoj Narayanan told reporters here.
“We were going very soft on the issue. During both these strikes we attended on all duties except the out-patient services,” he said.
The association said during the indefinite strike the doctors will not take up private practice either “to guard against any misinformation campaign”.