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Contractual health workers protest demanding job regularisation; tribals hit the street opposing regularisation
Around 10,000 contractual health workers, including para-medic, ANM, GNM, and lab technicians, working with the health department for over a decade, have been demanding job regularisation.
RANCHI: Hundreds of contractual health workers protested near the Raj Bhawan in Ranchi on Monday, demanding regularisation of their jobs, even as tribal outfits hit the streets later in the day warning the state government against registration of contractual employees in any department.
Around 10,000 contractual health workers, including para-medic, ANM, GNM, and lab technicians, working with the health department for over a decade, have been demanding job regularisation.
Announcing a long struggle, the protesters on Monday reminded the Hemant Soren government of its poll promise of job regularisation.
They were, however, stopped by the police near Raj Bhawan, around 250 metres from the CM’s residence.
“The state government should fulfill its poll promise as it’s been over three years in power. It’s not that the state government hasn’t regularised contractual workers in the past. In 2014, many employees were regularised. We demand registration on the same lines,” said Veena Singh, general secretary, Jharkhand Rajya NRHM-ANM/GNM Anubandh Karmachari Sangh.
However, in a first-of-its-kind protest in the state, members of tribal outfits marched from Jaipal Singh Munda stadium to Albert Ekka Chowk, warning the government against regularising contractual employees in any of the departments.
Members of several tribal social groups had on Saturday met and decided to oppose any move of the state government to regularise contractual employees. The protesters claimed that contractual employees were appointed bypassing the employment rules, including reservation policy.
“It’s an attempt to eat away the jobs of the state’s Adivasis and Moolvasis (original inhabitants) through the backdoor,” said Helam Oraon, a protester.
Shiva Kacchap, president, Kendriya Sarna Samiti, said that the government should not take any decision in haste. “The government needs to see whether all relevant rules of employment were followed for the appointment of contractual employees or not,” he said.
