THOOTHUKUDI: Over 300 multipurpose health workers of Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital (TKMCH) are allegedly not given the Covid-19 incentive of Rs 15,000 released by the State government.
Sources said the workers served at the Covid wards when the pandemic was at the peak during April, May and June last year.
The State government sanctioned incentives worth to the tune of Rs 91.65 crore for those directly dealt with the novel Coronavirus between April and June, providing Rs 30,000 each to the doctors, Rs 20,000 per head to the nurses and post graduate medical students, Rs 15000 each for trainee doctors, paramedical staff, health supervisors, sanitary workers, and others appointed through outsourcing, through an order dated November 2 last year. As per the order, Thoothukudi Medical College got an amount of Rs 1.09 crore and the hospital received Rs 1.51 crore.
However, the sanitary workers said they were not given the due incentive despite working at the Covid wards, risking their life. "Wearing the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kit for hours, we mingled with the patients, provided them food, medicines and took care of them as per the doctor's advice," said a worker wishing anonymity.
When asked, Dean of the medical college hospital, Dr N Nehru, told TNIE they would be given only if there is a provision. "There is no provision to give incentives to the multipurpose health workers," he said.
The workers said they are recruited as sanitary workers but employed as multipurpose-works in the medical college hospital. Apart from sweeping, cleaning the toilets in every department and keeping the government medical college hospital environment hygienic, they were also employed at the Covid wards on shift basis during April, May and June.
Moreover, different batches of sanitary workers indulged in collecting and segregation of wastes generated from the Covid wards, shift patients on stretchers to scan centres, operation theatres, cleaning equipment and intern for the medical department.
Even though they are used for multiple works on the hospital premises, the workers said they are not getting their full payment as per the fixation of daily wages for the contingent staff.
The supervisors are paid Rs 322 per day and sanitary workers Rs 254 a day, the workers said, even as the proceedings of the district collector on fixation of daily wages for the contingent staff, based on the consumer price index for the fiscal 2021-22, has declared the wages for the multipurpose workers and supervisors as Rs 482 per day and the sweepers as Rs 416 respectively.
A worker said the salary has not been increased for the past three years, even though the fuel price and market price of all commodities have almost doubled. "No one will think how we will manage to run our family with the meagre Rs 7000 and Rs 9000 take home," says another worker.
It may be noted that when two-third of the sanitary workers withdrew themselves from the work out of panic during the second wave in 2021, top officials including revenue officers and doctors, convinced them stating they are the "pillars of the government medical hospital" and assured them adequate welfare and benefits, to invite them back to the job, recalls, a woman worker.
One sanitary worker Prabavathy (45) died due to COVID19 infection in May, 2021 after being admitted to the Covid ward. "She was not taken a swab test by the doctors and nurses, even though she died 24 hours after being admitted in COVID ward," said another worker who witnessed her deathbed.
Still the services of these sanitary workers are needed for the government hospitals as omicron cases are seeing an upsurge, and promptly directorate of medical education had extended the services of the Covid HR that is, doctors, staff nurses, paramedical staff and multipurpose health workers, until March 31, 2022.