Hospital workers stage massive dharna in Hyderabad over pay hike

Contract sanitation, security, and patient care workers in Telangana government hospitals staged a protest in Hyderabad demanding a minimum wage hike to Rs 26,000 and better benefits. Led by AITUC, they submitted memorandums to health department officials.

Hyderabad: Braving the dry scorching heat of Hyderabad, hundreds of contract sanitation, security, and bedside patient care workers in government hospitals across Telangana staged a massive protest on Tuesday, demanding a hike in their minimum wages.

Led by the office bearers of AITUC, the members of the Telangana Medical Contract Employees and Workers union participated in a massive dharna and laid siege to the offices of the Director of Medical Education (DME) and the Telangana Vidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP) in Koti for several hours on Tuesday.

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Lashing out at the State government, MD Yusuf, state president, AITUC, said that it has been nearly a year since the Minimum Wage Board passed a resolution recommending a wage revision for thousands of organized and unorganised sector workers.

State Secretary of the Union, M Narasimha, said, “The State government established a three-member sub-committee of ministers to review the recommendations. It’s a shame that the committee has not met even once,” Yusuf said.

The main demands of contract medical employees include increasing the minimum wage to Rs 26,000 per month, abolishing the ‘Agency System’ and paying wages directly through a government corporation, provision of national and festival holidays, along with earned leave and payment of a one-month salary as a bonus to hospital workers.

Later, the protesting contract workers submitted Memorandums to DME, Telangana, Dr Narendra Kumar, TVVP Commissioner, Dr Ajay Kumar and Commissioner of Health, Medical, and Family Welfare, Sangeeta Satyanarayana.