Ernakulam Medical College teachers to hold token strike on September 3

KOCHI: Teachers at the Ernakulam Government Medical College (EMC) are set to hold a one-day token strike on September 3, demanding its integration into the government sector expedited.

Though the state Cabinet had approved creation of 350 posts at the EMC in January this year, the appointment to these posts is yet to take place from among the staff at the medical college. They include 148 faculty positions and 202 non-teaching staff posts.

“It’s close to two years since the medical college was taken over by the government, yet the integration has not taken place. We have held discussions with the authorities many times. On Thursday also, we met health secretary Dr K. Elangovan to raise our demands. He has now called us for a discussion on August 22 in the state capital. In any case, we want concrete action to resolve the impasse and absorb us into government service and grant all facilities that are available to our colleagues in other government medical colleges,” said Dr C. H. Nazeem, president of the Co-operative Medical College Teachers Association (CMCTA).

“A major anomaly is that 73 resident doctor posts have been newly created in the EMC as equivalent to the resident doctor posts in the old Co-operative Medical College. However, the resident doctor posts in government sector are on contract. The equivalent posts of resident doctors of old CMC in government sector are lecturer posts. So, 73 residents should be redesignated as lecturers for the effective integration of the staff,” said Dr Unnikrishnan G., secretary of CMCTA, and Dr Reji Rajan Varghese, joint secretary.

In another interesting development, the salary of senior doctors was cut with retrospective effect and they were asked to return the excess amount they drew. The association has demanded to cancel this. It also demanded regularizing the ‘contract doctors’ appointed before December 17, 2013.