No salaries to doctors of medical college run by SC-ST Dept in Kerala

Doctors of the Government Medical College Palakkad, the only medical college in the country run by Scheduled Castes (SC)-Scheduled Tribes (ST) Department, struck work for an hour demanding the payment of their salaries, which they have not received since May this year.

The doctors carried out a silent protest on the campus and maintained physical distance and went back to their work after an hour.

Dr Reshma Sajan, Associate Professor at the Gynaecology Department, stated, “We do our regular duty, COVID-duty, and teaching, without thinking about the risk to our families. We have been working hard every day since the pandemic. We don’t mind, either. After receiving our April salaries, we haven’t received a penny.” According to her, the doctors decided to protest as many of them were now finding it difficult to take care of expenses to run their homes.

The doctors said that they are not allowed private practice from home, during their free time, so there is no way for them to run their homes.

The Government Medial College, known as the Institute of Integrated Medical Sciences, Plakkad, was established in 2014. The college has a capacity to enrol 100 students every year. Of these 70 seats are reserved for SC, two for ST, 13 for general and 15 for students from all over the country.

The doctors submitted a memorandum to the Kerala Minister of Welfare of SC, ST and Backward Classes on July 24, 2021, seeking the payment of their wages. Following this, the government sanctioned an ad hoc grant of Rs 10 crore for the payment of salaries of all the employees of the college.