Contract workers at government hospitals stage protest

HYDERABAD:  Sanitation, patient care and security personnel of government hospitals staged a protest for an hour on Tuesday wearing black badges in front of their institutions throughout Telangana demanding “equal pay for equal work”.

Though the state government had promised to consider their demand for wage hike, salaries of these workers have not yet been increased. They have threatened that if the government does not concede their demand soon, they will be forced to start boycotting work.

According to Telangana Medical Contract Employees and Workers Union, most sanitation, patient care and security personnel have been working at their respective government hospitals since past 15 years, drawing a salary of Rs. 9,400 per month. When they protested against the low wages during the last year’s pandemic situation, Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao promised to increase their pay and include them within PRC. But the promise has not been kept.

There is a Supreme Court guideline that stipulates “equal pay for equal work”. But the same is not being implemented, the union says.

Laxmi Bai, sanitation worker at Osmania General Hospital, said, “There are around 420 of us at the OGH. How can we live with such meagre salaries, though we are the backbone of hospitals? State government should consider our case and fulfil our long-pending demand.”

Telangana Medical Contract Employees and Workers Union president M. Narsimha said from Tuesday onwards, they will continue to hold one-hour protests in front of their respective hospitals by wearing black badges. “If the government does not fulfil our demands, we will go on strike,” he warned.
There are around 3,000 such government hospital workers in Hyderabad and 10,000 working throughout Telangana performing duties under contract with third parties.