Ludhiana, June 6
The Coordination Committee of Paramedical and Health Employees, Punjab, has criticised the health department for the transfer of paramedical and Class IV employees of government dispensaries to far-flung places in an indiscriminate manner as a part of privatisation of 1,193 dispensaries.
Mr Amarjit Singh Pandher, co-convener and Mr Surjit Singh, press secretary of the coordination committee, said in a joint statement here today that medical officers had been appointed on contract basis in the dispensaries handed over to zila parishads whereas the pharmacists, posted in these institutions had been transferred to far away places. A similar fate awaited the Class IV staff in these dispensaries which had led to a state of uncertainty and resentment among the affected employees.
The committee called upon the government to adjust the staff of dispensaries, handed over to zila parishads, within the district and save them from dislocation. It served a veiled threat that in the absence of a positive response from the government, the coordination committee might be forced to launch an indefinite agitation seeking justice.
According to Mr Pandher, a meeting of the state and district-level office bearers of the committee would be convened at ESI Hospital here on June 10 to discuss the situation and chalk out the further course of action to effectively check the victimisation of the employees.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Raj Mulazam Dal, in an emergent meeting held here last evening, has decided to stage a protest dharna at Mini Secretariat on June 7 to focus on failure of the state government to concede genuine demands of the employees.
Giving this information, Mr Gurdeep Singh Hans, district secretary of the body, said the demands of the government employees like time scale promotion of 4-9-14 years, regularisation of ad hoc and work charge employees, scrapping contract system of labour and grant of due financial benefits were hanging fire for a long time and the government had failed to respond to repeated pleas of the employees' unions, leaving the employees with no other choice but to agitate.