SRINAGAR : National Health Mission (NHM) Employees who were on 72 hour long hunger strike since Wednesday extended their strike for further 72 hours.
In view of governments’ inattention towards their demand of regularization, despite staging hunger sit-in for 72 hours, the protesting employees decided to extend their protest program.
Pertinently the protest of the NHM employees enters into 3rd day today on Friday. They said that due to the failure of authorities they are forced to remain on hunger strike.
Protesters said “We have extended the more three days to our protest in favour of our demand which remained unfulfilled, no government authority bothers to visit us to accomplish our demands” they said.
NHM Employees said, “We have been working in the health department for last ten years on a meager wages that too without any job and security benefits like GP Fund, Pension, Leave benefits etc.
“Some of us have given 10 years of service on contractual basis but they are yet to be regularized, it speaks volumes about the step motherly treatment of the state government with us, Said Abdul Rouf, Spokesperson of All J&K NHM Employees Association.
Rouf said in his speech to huge gathering at Press Enclave that, “Once upon a time government used to call us pillars of health care but now when we demand our rights they not only ignore us but ask us that we have not need of you, Rouf said that it only aggravates us.
Rouf said when government failed to fulfill our genuine demands such as job or social security benefits like GP Fund, Leave benefits etc. In this connection we have decided to go further on strike call to over more 72 hour long protest sit-in and pen down strike from today”.
He said that, “If the government will not resolve our issues we may go for indefinite strike”.
The strike has badly affected the healthcare in J&K due to the continuous sit-in strike of NHM Employees, as the hospitals in J&K are solely dependent on NHM Employees.
