Vax drive hit as NHM staff continue agitation

Bathinda, November 22

As the National Health Mission (NHM) staff has been on a strike for the last one week on a call given by the NHM Joint Front, day-to-day functioning of health services, including Covid-19 vaccination, sampling, door-to-door activities and clerical work has got severly affected. As a result, patients have been forced to visit private labs in the city.

Members of the NHM Joint Front have been demanding regular jobs and a slew of other amendments to the 6th Pay Commission recommendations. The staff working at different units under the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP), Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RBSK), Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) and the NHM accused the state government of ignoring their long-standing demand of regularisation of their services.

Apart from medical services, clerical work has also been affected and numerous important reports could not be prepared and sent to the headquarters.

Narendar Kumar, state convener, National Health Mission Joint Front, said, “Over 12,000 employees have been working under the NHM scheme in different capacities for the past 10 to 15 years. Our demand for regularisation is lying pending due to indifferent approach of the government. The state government must regularise the NHM staff among 36,000 contractual staff.”

“We know that work is getting affected and patients are also suffering, but we are also helpless. Our strike will continue till our demands are not met,” said Kumar. — TNS