ROURKELA: Group-D regular and contractual employees of Rourkela Government Hospital (RGH), owing allegiance to HMS-affiliated Odisha Medical Karmachari Sangh (OMKS), have threatened to go on indefinite strike from Monday over various demands.
Their demands include no change in the nature of jobs of existing contractual workers, filling up of vacant posts and timely payment of wages. OMKS Advisor Ananda Chanran Mohanty, accompanied by secretary S C Panigrahi, announced that the regular contractual workers would go on indefinite strike from Monday till their demands are fulfilled.
Mohanty said even as the number of beds at RGH has gone up from 50 to 128, the facility caters to 350 patients in the Indoor Patient Department. He said when the bed strength of the hospital was 50, the sanctioned posts of Group-D employees were 21. However, presently only four Group-D employees are posted at the hospital.
Mohanty said for over a decade, 42 contract workers on daily wage basis have been performing technical jobs as dressers, attendants, ward boys and other non-medical jobs like manning various counters, while 20 others are engaged as contractual sweepers at the hospital.