Chandigarh: Contractual workers on strike on Oct 10; PGI suspends elective surgeries
In view of the strike, PGIMER administration has suspended all elective surgeries from Friday, clarifying that patients will be informed about postponements
Up in arms against the PGIMER administration for not fulfilling their long-pending demands, around 3,500 contractual workers have announced to go on strike once again on Friday.
In view of the strike, the hospital administration has suspended all elective surgeries from Friday, clarifying that patients will be informed about postponements.
Additionally, no new elective admissions will be done from Friday. The institute has urged hospitals in Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh not to refer patients to PGIMER during this period, given this pressing situation.
As per a statement by PGIMER, OPD registration will continue as normal and patients will be examined in various OPDs. ICU and emergency services will also continue to operate without disruption.
The institute has deployed regular staff to ensure smooth functioning and patient care, and requested public’s cooperation and patience to navigate this challenging period.
Called by the contract workers’ Joint Action Committee (JAC), this will be the sixth strike by workers’ unions in less than two years since Dr Vivek Lal took over as the PGIMER director. After Dr Lal took charge, the first strike was on November 16, 2022, the second on January 20 this year, the third on April 3 and 4, the fourth on June 11, and the fifth on August 8.
{{/usCountry}}Called by the contract workers’ Joint Action Committee (JAC), this will be the sixth strike by workers’ unions in less than two years since Dr Vivek Lal took over as the PGIMER director. After Dr Lal took charge, the first strike was on November 16, 2022, the second on January 20 this year, the third on April 3 and 4, the fourth on June 11, and the fifth on August 8.
{{/usCountry}}The JAC, which includes unions representing sanitation workers, security guards, hospital attendants and other categories of contract workers, alleged that their issues have remained unresolved despite a memorandum submitted on December 14, 2023, and several subsequent meetings. The workers have been demanding wage regularisation, improved medical facilities and other benefits.
Hospital attendants suspend work over unpaid arrears
On Thursday, the Hospital Attendants’ Union at PGIMER suspended work after calling a strike against the hospital administration for not releasing pending arrears. All contractual workers’ union also extended their support to the strike.
In the absence of hospital attendants, who assist with patient management in OPDs, NSS volunteers were called in to help the patients. Doctors and security guards also pitched in to keep the hospital services running smoothly.
Nearly six months ago, the ministry of health and family welfare had released ₹46 crore to give arrears to sanitary attendants, kitchen staff and security guards, but there was no mention of hospital attendants in the letter. While three of the four types of contractual workers were paid arrears till January 2024, hospital attendants were left out.
Union president Rajesh Chauhan raised the concerns with deputy director administration (DDA) Pankaj Rai and said, “Around 20 days ago, we had shared with the authorities that if no action would be taken on our pending arrears by October 10, we will go on strike. So, now we have no intention of calling it off until they assure we are paid what we are owed. If there’s a loss of life due to our strike, PGIMER authorities will be responsible and not us. We had done due diligence from our side to avoid the strike situation, it’s the authorities that should have taken instant action to meet our demands.”
Rai said, “We had already forwarded the demands of arrears by hospital attendants to the health ministry.”
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