NHM staff call off strike as govt agrees to their demands
CHANDIGARH: Calling off their strike, as many as 12,000 contractual employees of the national health mission (NHM),Haryana, resumed worked on Friday after the government agreed to their demands, which included salary hike and framing of service rules.
Haryana NHM Karamchari Sangh president RehanRajaand its executive member Atul Gijwani told HT that since the government had accepted their demands, the striking NHM employees decided to resume work on Friday.
They said they decided to call off their strike following their meeting with health minister Anil Vij, principal secretary to chief minister RK Khullar and other senior officials of the health department on late Thursday evening.
The NHM workers said that Vij assured them that service rules for NHM contractual staff will be framed by January 1, 2018 and the hike in their salaries will also be given according to the said service rules and as per the different categories of the staff.
“We have also been assured that neither will the service of any worker be terminated nor will their salary be deducted for
WORKERS HAD HEALTH MINISTER VIJ, WHO ASSURED TO FULFIL THEIR DEMADNS FPR SALARY HIKE, SERVICE RULES
the strike,” Raja added.
The NHM employees, including paramedical staff, lab technicians, pharmacists, multi-purpose health workers and information assistants, had been on strike since November 5.
Their main demands included an increase (equivalent to 7th pay commission) in their salaries as has been given to other contractual employees working in boards and corporations, framing of service rules and regularisation of their services.
Threatening termination of striking NHM employees, Vij had on Monday written to district authorities for prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr PC so as to thwart demonstrations by them around hospitals. Stating that all demands of national health mission workers including hike in their salary and framing of service rules had been accepted, Vij said that only Central government could decide on the employees demand of regularisation of their services.