Srinagar, Nov 01: Employees working under the ambit of the National Health Mission in hospitals across J&K on Saturday urged Minister for Health and Medical Education, Sakeena Itoo to redress their pending issues regarding job security and delayed salaries.
Nearly 11,000 employees are working under the NHM in the UT and are working tirelessly performing their legitimate duties on meagre salaries and without any allowances and job security benefits, they said.
Chief Spokesperson, Jammu and Kashmir National Health Mission Employees Association (JKNHMEA), Kashmir Division, Abdul Rauoof urged the minister to redress the grievances of NHM employees on priority especially the release of timely salary.
“We urge the minister to take cognisance and initiate a process regarding our job, financial and social security measures,” he said.
Rauoof said they expect the government to fulfil their aspirations within the shortest possible time so that they are able to put their best and concerted efforts into the achievement of the objective of the Mission.
According to the spokesperson, the government constituted a committee of three top officers in 2017 and 2018 to discuss and examine the issues like regularisation policy in which one committee in 2017 already forwarded a draft proposal before the government through the Finance Department for approval.
“Since then, there has been no further meeting conducted by the higher authorities to discuss the burning issues of regularisation followed by other genuine demands,” he said.
JKNHMEA president Muneer Andrabi said that the NHM employees of all cadres have worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 pandemic in longer shifts and with utmost dedication.
“It is unfortunate that our demands of regularization have yet not been considered by the concerned authorities. It is high time for the government to resolve the issues NHM employees have been confronting for a long,” he said.
The NHM employees said since the launch of the scheme in J&K, the government has failed to frame a regularisation policy stating that only verbal promises were made.
They have pined hope that the government would consider their demands and acknowledge the services rendered by NHM employees in odd and normal times.
