Department threatens action, employees refuse to budge

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, June 29

While the administrative machinery is pressurising contractual staff nurses and ancillary staff at Government Medical College here to end their protest, the employees are adamant that a notification regarding regularisation of their services should be issued first. The hospital’s medical superintendent had read a letter yesterday from the state department stating that action would be initiated against the employees if they failed to join their duties.

The contractual employees have been protesting since June 1 demanding regular jobs. The employees said even as the medical college here was located in the Assembly segment represented by Medical Education and Research Minister Anil Joshi, he had not cared to visit them. “Apart from the medical superintendent, no other official including the principal has visited us. This shows the indifference of the department for which we have been working at very low wages for the past six years,” said an employee.

Association president Ajitpal Kaur said, “We are in no position to fight with the government. Our protest should be considered as a resentment and not a revolt. We want that our services should be regularised so that our salaries are increased.” She said all employees were frustrated due to the attitude of the government.

She said the employees had decided to fight till the last. “We are already at the receiving end as we get only Rs 8,000 as salaries. It is not possible to run families with such a meagre income. We will continue our protest,” she said.