National Health Mission contract employees threaten strike over unpaid salaries

Nearly 17,000 NHM contract employees in Telangana plan to strike on March 22 over unpaid salaries and arrears.

Nearly 17,000 contract employees affiliated with the National Health Mission (NHM) in Telangana are planning to go on strike from March 22 if their outstanding salaries remain unpaid. The aggrieved employees, part of the NHM Contract and Outsourcing Employees Union, have endured a salary drought since December, coupled with seven months of overdue Pay Revision Commission (PRC) arrears.

State general secretary of the union Rama Rajesh Khanna said: “We staged a protest outside the Telangana NHM Director’s office in Koti on March 7. Despite garnering State-wide support from all employees, the Health department has remained unresponsive. Subsequently, on March 15, our attempt to meet the NHM director with a representation letter proved futile as he was unavailable, prompting us to redirect our efforts to the Health Secretary’s office at the Secretariat.”

Highlighting the union’s ultimatum in the letter, Mr. Rajesh asserted: “We have urged the government to ensure our salaries are credited by March 21. Failing which, employees will go on strike from March 22.”

As per the National Health Mission website, in Telangana, the role of mission director for NHM falls under the jurisdiction of the Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare. The NHM Telangana Payroll website indicates a total of 17,514 employees in the State.

The union has also outlined a series of demands, including the regularisation of contract employees, provision of health cards to all staff, implementation of 180 days maternity leave for female NHM employees, equitable allocation of casual leave equivalent to regular staff, and provision of job security for family members in the event of an employee’s demise.

Numerous employees have turned to ‘X’ to voice their grievances, but to no avail.