Geo-fenced-based attendance: Haryana govt health employees to intensify protest

In a July 21 letter to additional chief secretary (ACS), health, the co-ordinator of a committee of health department officers and employees, Dr Rajesh Khyalia said that the officials and employees will wear black badges on July 28 to express their protest and observe a one-hour strike on August 4 from 10 am to 11 am.

Government doctors and health employees in Haryana on Monday announced to intensify their protest against the state government’s move to implement a geo-fenced-based attendance management system for health department officials and staff.

The decisions were taken in a meeting of the coordination committee held on July 20.

In a July 21 letter to additional chief secretary (ACS), health, the co-ordinator of a committee of health department officers and employees, Dr Rajesh Khyalia said that the officials and employees will wear black badges on July 28 to express their protest and observe a one-hour strike on August 4 from 10 am to 11 am. The decisions were taken in a meeting of the coordination committee held on July 20.

Dr Khyalia who is also the president of the Haryana Civil Medical Services Association (HCMSA) said that gate meetings will also be held on August 4 where memorandums will be submitted to the government through the civil surgeons. “If the orders for the geo-fenced-based attendance are not withdrawn, a meeting will be held on August 10 to announce the next phase of the agitation,” Dr Khyalia said.

The coordination committee of health department officers and employees had on June 8 submitted a memorandum in this regard to the health minister Arti Singh Rao. Dr Khyalia said that the health minister assured the committee representatives that the issue would be discussed with officials to find a solution and no one would be forced to comply with geo fencing based attendance.

Dr Khyalia said that since all officers and employees of the health department were already marking their attendance through biometric systems, there was no justification to enforce geo-fenced-based attendance.

The HCMSA president said that there was a unanimous disapproval of the proposed geo fencing attendance system. “The system mandates the installation of a mobile application on personal devices to track doctor’s location. This constituted a breach of privacy, which is a fundamental right as upheld by the Supreme Court in its August 24, 2017, judgement in justice KS Puttaswamy versus Union of India case. Tracking a doctor’s location is unwarranted, leading to an environment of constant surveillance,” he said.

The HCMSA said that the doctors have expressed concerns regarding the potential cybersecurity threats associated with the mobile application such as unauthorised access to sensitive personal data stored on mobile devices. The requirement to share personal data and install such apps creates vulnerabilities that compromise individual and organisational security, the association said.