Contract healthcare workers’ protests enter second day, warn of larger strike

Statewide protests by contract healthcare workers entered their second day in Telangana, with sanitation, patient care and security staff demanding higher wages and labour benefits. The workers warned of a massive strike across teaching hospitals if their long-pending demands remain unresolved.

Hyderabad: The statewide protests of contract healthcare workers in government hospitals entered their second day on Friday, with sanitation, patient care, and security workers staging demonstrations across the districts.

The healthcare workers warned that if the State government fails to resolve their long-pending issues, they would be forced to launch a massive protest strike in all the teaching hospitals.

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Senior leader from Telangana Medical Contract Employees and Workers Union, M Narasimha, said for the past two years, contract workers have been appealing to increase their minimum monthly wages to Rs 26,000, but have faced neglect. “Contract employees have been working on meagre salaries for the past several years without even receiving new uniforms. The field-level healthcare workers are denied fundamental labour rights, including statutory minimum wages, paid leaves, and bonuses,” he said.

The protests were organised in all major medical institutions, including Gandhi Hospital, Osmania General Hospital, Niloufer Hospital, Fever Hospital, King Koti Hospital, Koti Maternity Hospital, Malakpet Area Hospital, Nampally Hospital, and Sarojini Devi Eye Hospital. The demonstrations saw active participation from key union leaders and numerous other hospital contract workers.