Tourist complexes yet to be paid for docs' stay

Staff working without salary for 3 months

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Caption:

Haryana Tourism’s Tilyar Tourist Resort at Rohtak. Tribune photo

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Sunit Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Rohtak, July 11

Employees of state-run tourist complexes in Haryana, who have been serving doctors and other healthcare professionals during the Covid pandemic, are working without salary for months.

The healthcare workers of government health facilities have been staying at tourist complexes across the state throughout the Covid era.

However, the bills of their lodging and food etc are yet to be settled. That has aggravated the financial crisis prevailing at the Haryana Tourism Corporation.

The situation has become so grave that employees at a majority of tourist resorts and complexes have not got their salaries for up to three months.

Sources maintained that the unpaid bills of doctors and other healthcare professionals amount to more than Rs 1 crore and the tourism employees could get their salaries if these are paid.

“We had met the managing director of Haryana Tourism on June 14 and apprised him of our concerns, including the non-payment of salaries. We plan to stage protest demonstrations across the state as no initiative has been taken to address our concerns,” said Subhash Deswal, general secretary, Haryana Tourism Karmchari Sangh.

He demanded that employees of tourist complexes should also be accorded the status of Covid warriors as they had served doctors and healthcare workers during the pandemic and many of them got infected while discharging their duties.

Joginder Dalal, vice-president of the sangh, alleged that the state government wanted to privatise the Tourism Corporation and the management was trying to hand over even the profit-making complexes/resorts to private players in the name of financial losses.

The employees’ association has asserted that it would oppose the state government’s “move” to privatise the corporation tooth and nail.