Demand permanent jobs from Health Minister
Mail News Service
Jamshedpur, Dec 15: Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College Hospital (MGMCH) sanitary workers on Tuesday held a demonstration in the Hospital premises demanding permanent jobs vide a letter addressed to the Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta. The protestors mentioned that they were being made to clean patients’ excreta and other hospital garbage without being provided any protective gear by the hospital authorities. They warned in the letter of demands to the Health Minister that if their demands were not met forthwith they would be forced to launch an agitation.
The sanitary workers protesting under the banner of Asthai Karmchari Sangh styated that they had no other option than to clear hospital garbage and patient’s excreta without any protective gear. They pointed out that they were serving at the hospital since 18 years as outsourced workers and many among them had died while in harness. They had been demanding job permanency for the past 18 years and since the formation of Asthai Karmchari Sangh 15 years ago, their demand for job permanency and allied benefits had been ignored by the hospital management as well as the state governments that had held reins of the state.
Among those who led the demonstrators were the Sangh president Usha Devi, secretary Ravi Namta, Girish Karwan, Shyamal Sarkar, Sureshwar Sagar and Shuru Patro.
Demands of sanitary workers: The sanitary workers (Safai Karmchari) stated that they had been working under various contractors through 18 years but the cponcept of equal pay and equal work had been eluding them and as a result they were being forced to perform duties while being underpaid. All sanitary workers have been demanding permanent jobs. As none of the state governments had heard their appeals they were putting in a fresh demand for permanent jobs with immediate effect vide a letter addressed to state Health Minister Banna Gupta.
The agitating sanitary workers regretted that the dedicated manner in which they worked with just ¼ th work force during the COVID-19 pandemic ensuring spotless hospital wards and patients’ comfort was not even lauded by either the health department or the hospital management.
“We sanitary workers have been executing excessive workload since 2018 with a much depleted workforce. We are doing cleaning work in a highly sensitive place like a hospital where we are cleaning human wastes and other garbage without being provided protective gear thus putting ourselves at risk to grave illnesses. Neither the contractors nor the hospital management is concerned about our pitiable condition,” stated Usha Devi, the Sangh president.
