Health Dept workers hold pen-down strike

Our Correspondent

Tarn Taran, March 28

Employees working with the AIDS centres observed a one-day pen-down strike here on Tuesday. Through the strike, they were trying to lay stress on fulfilling their current demands.

The strike affected the normal functioning like giving medicine to AIDS patients across the district. The strike call was given by the Punjab AIDS Control Employees’ Welfare Association. The agitating employees under the leadership of Harjit Singh, district president of the association, submitted a memorandum to Dr Dilbag Singh, Civil Surgeon, regarding their demands.

Harjit Singh said the agitating employees had been demanding that none of the employees working with the Health Department for years should be retrenched, besides not to put a break in the service of the employees in the month of April.

The employees had been working on contract in the OST, ICTC, ART and STI centres attached to the Government Health Centrer. The employees were also working in Blood Banks and being deployed for counselling purpose too. The association was also demanding an increase of 20 per cent in their remuneration as was committed by the government.

Besides in the district-level Civil Hospital, Tarn Taran, these centres exist in Patti, Chabal, Khadoor Sahib and other hospitals of the department where the normal working was affected.