18% salary hike: 450 outsourced NHM employees in Punjab not covered under order

The order issued on Friday mentions salary increment only for contractual employees of National Health Mission

Around 450 outsourced employees of National Health Mission (NHM), including auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs) and staff nurses, are feeling betrayed as the state health department has left them out of its 18% salary hike order.

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They alleged that the Punjab government has excluded them from the benefits of hike in salaries after giving written promise.

The state government had on Friday issued an order to hike the salaries of NHM employees by 18%, as appreciation of their work amid the Covid-19 outbreak. However, there is no mention of the outsourced employees in the order. The order states hike only for contractual employees of NHM.

There are total 13,500 NHM employees in Punjab and 450 of them are outsourced.

Tarun Kumar, an outsourced worker and member of NHM Employees’ Union said, “The state government is not treating us fairly. We all are doing the same work as regular and contractual employees. Our ANMs and staff nurses are also fighting Covid-19. Then why has the health department left us out.”

“On April 28, our union had met health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu and he had promised to hike salaries of all employees, including outsourced and contractual. The state department had also included this promise in the minutes of that meeting. However, the health department on Friday issued an order for 18% hike in salaries of only contractual NHM employees,” said Tarun.

The outsourced workers have warned of protest if the state government does not give them 18% hike in salaries.

NHM director Dr Parvinder Sidhu said, “We have given hike to contractual employees. We will think about the outsourced employees later.”