BENGALURU: The Karnataka Health Department has been holding discussions to increase the salary of National Health Mission (NHM) contractual workers by 15 per cent, said NHM Director, Dr Naveen Bhat.
Some hospitals in Bengaluru are overburdened due to shortage of NHM workers, who have been protesting over the past two weeks, demanding that 30,000 contractual workers across the state be regularised.
A doctor from KC General said there is shortage in several departments, and staff are being relocated to various department to ensure that treatment is not hampered. The diagnostic services have been hit after lab technicians and nurses joined the strike, he said.
The contractual workers in the city have been staging a protest since February 13, demanding emoluments similar to that of the permanent employees. The indefinite strike, NHM workers said, will only end once the health department promises to fulfill their demands. NHM contractual workers, who comprise 70 per cent of the medical staff, have been protesting against pay disparity. During the pandemic, NHM workers in five states including Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Haryana were regularised. However, Health Minister K Sudhakar promising meet their demands a month ago but no steps have been taken yet, the workers said.
The salaries of lab technicians, staff nurses and group D employees are half of that of the permanent staff, who have the same qualifications and experience, said Dr Manjunath, member, Karnataka State Health and Medical Education Department Contractual and Outsource Employee Association. He added that on many occasions, group D staffers are not even paid their minimum wages. “Our only demand is the workers be regularised,” Dr Manjunath said.