HDF employees stage protest in Achabal, demand pending wages
Anantnag: Employees working against Hospital Development Fund (HDF) of Shangus block of Anantnag district on Monday staged a protest in Achabal and pressed for the release of wages in their demands.
Reports said that scores of HDF employees assembled at Achabal cafeteria and started raising slogans in favour of their demands including regularization of ervices, hike in wages and release of pending wages. The employees including females were shouting slogans like ‘we want justice’ and sought immediate redressal of their grievances.
They said that their future looks bleak as they have been deprived of wages for months and there is no word about regularizing their services despite working shoulder to shoulder with the regular employees especially during the pandemic situation.
“Although we were included in the SRO 520 category along with the employees working in other departments, they have been receiving regular monthly wages since then but we are unable to understand why there is step motherly behaviour with us,” said an employee during the protest.
He said that they are the frontline workers and come in direct contact with the COVID patients at the hospital but nobody bothered about them.
He said last time J&K administration had announced various incentives for health workers but it is very unfortunate that the Administration forgot the Hospital Development Fund employees and announced nothing for them.
“HDF employees have given their best to Health Department and worked tirelessly during COVID-1 and 2 but Government never increased our wages and they continue to work on meager salary,” said another protestor.
She said it’s very hard to meet their daily needs with the meager salary provided by the Government at present.
Despite repeated requests and protests the concerned authorities are not paying any attention towards us, they said.
They once again requested LG Manoj Sinha, Chief Secretary, Financial commissioner Health and Medical Education to look into the matter and save their future by regularizing their jobs, implementing Minimum Wages Act, releasing of pending wages and providing them incentives at par with the permanent employees.
