BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa late on Wednesday evening yielded to the demands of contract employees in the state health department and requested them to call off their strike which was scheduled for Thursday. Vishwaradhya HY, president, Karnataka State Health and Medical Education Department Contractual and Outsourced Employees’ Association, said, “We wanted our demands to be met and an order from the chief minister.
Now that we have got it in writing, we are calling off the strike.” The association had demanded regularisation of jobs, transfer option, bonuses, accident insurance, grievance committee, holidays and other facilities for staff nurses, Ayush doctors, ambulance drivers, data entry operators, lab technicians, counsellors, supervisors and senior tubercuslosis supervisors, who are working without job security, unequal wages as compared to permanent health staff. “We have received 50 percent of the salary for April and none for May.
We had a meeting on May 20 with Health Minister B Sriramulu and Additional Chief Secretary of Health and Medical Education Jawaid Akhtar, where they promised to form a committee to look into our demands and issue a government order.” He added, “However till now, they had not done it despite health being a state subject.” Health Commissioner Pankaj Kumar Pandey had earlier said, “Meetings were held a week ago with the minister and the association. Most of their demands have been met by the National Health Mission.”