NHM Workers Were Warned in Bengaluru – Return to Work!

BENGALURU: The National Health Mission (NHM) has given contract workers a final warning to end their 40-day strike and report to work or face legal repercussions. They have been protesting for a long time.

More about the protest by the NHM workers

A press release from NHM informed the District Health and Family Welfare Association to call an emergency meeting and fire any employees who don’t show up for work within 48 hours. Since February 13, contract workers in the state have been protesting for pay that is equal to that of permanent employees.

So , the demand is…..

According to NHM employees, the indefinite strike won’t end until the health department makes a commitment to meet all of its demands.

The government has given an offer……

The health department offered a 15% pay raise for contract workers in an order dated March 4. The order states that medical officers with more than five years of experience and those who joined with a monthly salary of less than Rs 20,000 are eligible for the raise.

The proposed increase for NHM contractual specialists was 5% for those with 3-5 years of experience, 10% for those with 5–10 years of experience, and 15% for those with more than 15 years of experience.

But NHM workers don’t want that! Why?

The proposal was rejected by NHM employees, who then extended their strike. They advocated for all workers to be regularised and given the same rights as long-term employees. Despite the Essential Services Maintenance Act’s enforcement, the workers have not returned, according to Dr. Naveen Bhat, director of NHM, who spoke with TNIE.

The strike, he claimed, had been called off in Udupi, and workers in other districts were also going back to work. He claimed that after consultation with other states, it was discovered that only Manipur has regularised contract workers. They could easily implement it because of the area’s sparse population. He assured the workers that the health department is taking their requests into consideration, but he also forewarned them that strict action would be taken if they didn’t report back to work.