NALGONDA: Due to ongoing disputes between the principal of the Nalgonda medical college and the organiser of an outsourcing agency, the sanitation workers and security guards employed at the college have not received their salaries for the past five months. This situation has left them unable to celebrate the Dussehra festival.
Approximately 33 workers have been serving the college for the past three years. The director of medical education (DME) has not approved their salary bills, prompting the outsourcing agency to pay the workers from their own pocket. However, the agency stopped paying the salaries for the five months, demanding the DME to approve the salary bill.
In response to this situation, last month, the workers staged a protest, under the aegis of the medical contract workers union of AITUC, by locking the college gates. They demanded the immediate settlement of their unpaid wages.
One of the workers at the college said that they were only receiving Rs 6,000 per month for an eight-hour shift and this amount has not been paid for the last five months. State secretary of AITUC, Palla Devender Reddy, expressed his concern over the plight of these workers, who continue to face severe problems due to the non-payment of wages for such an extended period.
He criticised the ineffectiveness of negotiations with the college principal, as they claimed that the salaries bill was stalled due to a lack of work order permission from the DME for the 33 workers. Devender questioned why the college engaged these workers if they lacked the necessary permissions.
He demanded the immediate settlement of pending wages and an increase in wages in accordance with Government Order No.60 from Rs 6,000 to Rs 12,000. Meanwhile, collector RV Karnan told TNIE that he will speak with officials concerned and take steps to clear the pending salaries of the 33 workers.