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49 protesting PGIMER employees detained by Chandigarh Police
PGIMER employees have been protesting during their lunch-hours outside the Kairon Block every day since September 12, but were on November 16 detained and taken to the Sector 11 police station at around 2 pm.
Police on Wednesday detained 49 protesting non-faculty Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) employees — seeking wages on par with regular employees, filling of vacant posts and decisions on promotions and duty-hour issues.
Employees from various unions have been protesting during their lunch-hours outside the Kairon Block every day since September 12, but were on Wednesday detained and taken to the Sector 11 police station at around 2 pm..
Notably, the employees had planned a protest march from PGIMER to Sector 24 on Wednesday.
Following the police action, thousands of non-faculty employees stopped their work and gathered outside the Kairon Block to join the protest and demand the release of their colleagues. The health services were partially affected for two hours.
The police, however, released the workers at 3.30 pm, following which PGIMER director Dr Vivek Lal and other authorities held a meeting with the non-faculty employees.
“In the meeting with non-faculty staff, it has been decided that the PGI Employees Union will submit the charter of their demands to the authorities, by Thursday. Further, PGI authorities will conduct a meeting with the union representatives on December 10, at 12 noon, to discuss the demands which will be submitted by them”, Kumar Gaurav Dhawan, deputy director administration (DDA)-cum-official spokesperson of PGIMER said.
PGI Medical Technologists Union had on November 4 given a notice to authorities announcing a mass casual leave on November 14. The Punjab and Haryana high court, however, had put a stay on the notice on PGIMER’s plea.
Over 5,000 employees of the PGIMER are protesting time and again over various their long-standing demands for years altogether. In each petition filed by PGIMER, it had said that demands were under active consideration. But the deadlock has continued since 2019.
