Not paid salaries for five months, health employees announce strike on Sept 10

Ludhiana For the last five months, nearly 1000 employees of the state Health department have been waiting for their monthly salaries, but the wait now seems endless. The patience of the employees finally seems to have run out as they have decided to take to the streets on September 10 to press for their demands.

Balbir Kalia, president of the district unit of Coordination Committee of Health Employees, said the employees were fed up of the perennial problem which puts brakes on the smooth running of their households. "We are therefore organising a state-wide protest against this and will stage a dharna at district health offices," he said.

As many as 200 employees of the Family Welfare Office in the districts who have not received their salaries fall under the 2011 head when it comes to disbursement of salaries, said Kalia. The employee representatives also held a meeting with Civil Surgeon Dr Maninderjit Singh on Wednesday to apprise him of the situation.

"We have to take the decision to raise our voice since the Health and Family Welfare director has been adamant and has not taken any steps to improve the situation," said Kalia.

Another employee added: "We are used to such treatment but this is now getting on our nerves. It becomes difficult to run our households when we do not receive salaries for months together."

The Health department, however, has maintained as on earlier occasions that salaries get delayed as they fall under centrally-sponsored schemes and therefore the delay is on part of the Centre.

But the employees respond to this claim by saying that the delay gets compounded by the state government.The health workers also quoted a 2003 Punjab and Haryana High Court ruling which directed the department to disburse the salaries in time every month.

Kalia said they have also decided to support 176 multipurpose health workers whose job contract has been cancelled and ask the government to reinstatement them at the earliest.