Twenty-four hours after close to 55 nurses and 10 sanitation workers at the government-owned Bharat Ratna Late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi (Tembha) Civil Hospital in Bhayandar, who had launched an indefinite strike, resumed work on Sunday.
“We have directed the contractual agency to clear their dues. Based on the assurance by the agency we informed them that their dues will be cleared in 2 -3 days, following which the striking nurses complied and got back to work.” confirmed a senior health officer.
Nurses on the payroll volunteered to work in double shifts
Although nurses on the payroll volunteered to work in double shifts, to minimise inconvenience to patients, healthcare services were severely hit at the hospital. The hospital administration claimed that only 23 nurses had gone on strike while the others had their regular day off. The strike has been called under the aegis of the nurses association.
"Authorities least concerned in ensuring staff get their wages on time"
“Despite repeated pleas and agitations, the state government authorities seem to be least concerned in ensuring that the para-medical staff get their wages on time. This is not the first time, that contractual staffers who come from a poor economic background have been deprived of timely wages. They have to literally struggle for wages creating financial problems for them to run their families. Many have not been able to pay the school fees of their children. A permanent solution has to be worked out,” said Sultan Patel who is the working president of the Vivek Pandit-led Shramjeevi Kaamgar Sanghatana.
Expressing restraints to sustain the huge administrative expenses to run the medical institution, the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) requested the state government to take over the hospital. As a result, the state government authorities took over the reins of the hospital in 2018. As many as 140 people including 83 technical and 57 non-technical employees were hired on a contract basis as focus facilities by the state health department. However, none of them have been receiving their wages on time for the past couple of years. Staffers of this hospital, especially nurses and health workers had emerged as a strong frontline healthcare force while playing a crucial role in combating the Covid-19 pandemic.
