Job loss haunts 1,500 employees of Gian Sagar

Gagan K Teja

Tribune News Service

Patiala, May 16

After the Punjab Government withdrew all essential certificates given to medical, dental, nursing and physiotherapy colleges run by the Gian Sagar Educational and Charitable Trust, their employees demanded a proper solution to the problem instead of shutting down the institutions.

They initiated a chain hunger strike at Banur, demanding that a lenient view be taken of the problem instead of shutting down the institutes. They rued that the state government was playing with lives of 1,500 staff members rather than finding a suitable solution to the problem. They also held a protest march.

 Sukhvinder Singh, a Class IV employee, said the government had failed to accommodate 1,500 staff members, who have been struggling to make both ends meet for the past many months. “Firstly, we have not received our salaries for the past seven months and now the fear of losing jobs is haunting us. How does the government justify the closure of a decade-old institution. Capt Amarinder Singh had promised to provide a job per family but they are taking away jobs of 1,500 people,” he added.  

Another Class IV employee, Gudiya Rani, rued that the government failed to safeguard interests of all stakeholders. “Forget about jobs, we are not even being given our pending salaries,” he added.

Commenting on the issue, Medical Education Minister Brahm Mohindra said they had already made it clear that the government could not acquire the institute as it was run by a charitable trust. “Moreover, we don’t know hidden liabilities of the institution? I know that closing a medical college is easy that opening another one. But we have no other option,” he added.

“The Secretary, Medical Education, and the Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University have already approached the Union Ministry with a plan to shift the students and we are focusing on that as of now,” he said.