Outsourced employees' strike at Rohtak PGIMS enters Day 8

On the eighth day of their ongoing strike, a section of outsourced employees at Pt BD Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak (UHSR), staged a half-clad protest outside the office of the Medical Superintendent (MS) of the PGIMS on Monday.

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Raising slogans against both the university administration and the private firm, the protesters intensified pressure on the authorities to accept their key demand — to shift from the private firm to employment under the Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam (HKRN). After the demonstration, workers returned to their dharna site at Vijay Park on the university campus.

At present, employees are working under the private firm. Wages are paid to them by the university through the firm. They believe that the HKRN provides more transparent and secure contractual employment with some additional facilities.

“We are not begging, we are fighting for justice — to end the contract system (thekedari pratha) which the government itself opposes. That’s precisely why the HKRN was formed — to bring workers under a government-regulated contract system. Everyone knows private contractors exploit workers under various pretexts,” said one protester, while speaking to mediapersons.

He said while university officials publicly support shift to the HKRN, they had taken no concrete steps to make it happen. “Though an inquiry against the private firm has been pending with the university for over a month under the supervision of the Medical Superintendent, yet there’s no timeline for its completion,” he rued.

Another worker questioned the university’s stance, pointing out the inconsistency. “If the private firm is unwilling to continue its contract, as the authorities themselves claim, then why hasn’t the agreement been officially terminated and workers brought under the university’s purview or the HKRN?” he asked.

Meanwhile, the university authorities have claimed that the process of shifting outsourced employees to the HKRN is currently underway and is likely to be completed in the coming days.