NHM employees demand regularisation
Srinagar: Feeling let down by the government for not including them in the list of 60,000 daily wagers to be regularised, hundreds of employees including a sizeable number of women of the National Health Mission (NHM) and similar other Schemes of Health Services Thursday staged a protest demonstration at Press Enclave here against the government for allegedly discrimination shown towards them.
Under the aegis of Joint Employees Coordination Committee (JECC) of NHM, the employees went on 72-hour protest yesterday in support of their demand, resulting in disruption of the health services in rural and urban areas of Kashmir thus putting people to great inconvenience.
Talking to reporters, a spokesman of the JECC NHM, RNTCP, NACO and other schemes, Abdul Rauoof said the employees have decided not to call off the strike till the government does not come out with a roadmap or a written proposal for regularization of our services.
Regarding health minister Bali Baghat’s assurance that government will consider their demand, Rauoof said “We welcome the intentions or statement of our minister. Our demands have been acknowledged many times earlier by the concerned higher authorities but nothing substantial or concrete has been done to translate them into action.
The employees toughened their stand and threatened to bring more and more services under the ambit of the strike which had been exempted earlier.
Terming the strike as an extreme step, he said “It is very unfortunate that NHM Employees have been forced to take this extreme step. It is only because of “inordinate delay, callous attitude, insensitivity and non serious behaviour shown by the government towards framing the policy of regularization of all NHM Employees including Doctors, Paramedical and Management Personnel who are serving tirelessly in this trouble torn state.”
The protesting employees demanded that they be included in the list of 60,000 employees who are to be regularized. Government, last week, announced that it will regularize 60,000 daily wagers and casual labourers. However, NHM employees did not figure in the said list, the protester claimed. (Kashmir Wire)
KV Correspondent
