Invited for talks, PGI staff call off their May 3 strike

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 28

The PGI Contract Workers Union on Saturday called off its strike scheduled for May 3 after the authorities invited them for a meeting. 

Ashwani Munjal, chairman of the union, said the call for strike was withdrawn after the PGI authorities asked the union to send a list of daily-wage workers deployed in various departments of the institute. “If the PGI will not act in accordance with the law, we will again reconsider our decision,” said Munjal. 

However, sources said the union decided to call off the strike after the PGI authorities responded strongly to its strike notice. In a communiqué issued on Friday evening, the PGI authorities had stated that the patient care would not be allowed to suffer at any cost and indiscipline would not be tolerated.

Meanwhile, the PGI has constituted a committee under the chairmanship of Dr A Chakarbati, professor and head, Department of Microbiology, to hold a discussion with the union representatives on April 30.  

The PGI Administration had clarified that the outsourced hospital attendants, sanitary attendants and MRTs had given the strike notice. The PGI had stated that these outsourced workers were not its employees. As a goodwill gesture, they were invited for discussion twice, but they didn’t turn up, stated a communiqué by the PGI.