KGMCTA central executive took  the decision

President says there is no faction in the organisation

KOCHI: The Kerala Government Medical College Teachers’ Association (KGMCTA) has withdrawn its ongoing strike. The association, however, has said it will continue to press for making private practice an option.

Addressing presspersons after a central executive committee meeting of the association here on Thursday, president Varghese Thomas said the general opinion favoured withdrawal of the strike. “However, we’re hopeful that our demands would be considered when the impact of the government’s stand on private practice is realised,” he said.

The association hoped that the correction of anomalies in the pay revision that the government was said to have made would be published soon.

All the general bodies in the medical colleges in the State had agreed to have the option of private practice. Dr. Thomas said the Kerala government should follow West Bengal in allowing private practice as an option to medical college teachers.

Asked why they had stopped private practice even before the deadline set by the government and why they were pressing for the same now, Dr. Thomas said they had wanted to give the message that private practice was not just for monetary considerations.

“Later we withdrew the strike to get ready for discussions with the government. But we had to go on strike again since the government did a volte-face on its promise to consider our demands.”

Dr. Thomas denied that there was any faction in the association, stating that differences of opinions were always aired freely.

Regarding the news that the government had withdrawn the transfer orders of two doctors as soon as the withdrawal of strike was announced, Dr. Thomas said it was a positive sign, that all issues could be resolved creatively.

With regard to research activities, Dr. Thomas said medical colleges in the State required a lot more facilities to conduct research. The colleges were struggling to meet the basic requirements of a teaching hospital, Dr. Thomas added.