The equal work and equal pay demand, for which the contract workers of the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research have been protesting, might soon get the nod of the Ministry concerned.
The Ministry of labour and Employment of the Central Advisory Contract labour Board in its decision on Thursday has recommended eliminating the age old practice of the ongoing contract workers’ module. The board will soon send its historic decision to the Ministry.If the recommendations are implemented, then nearly 2,000 employees working at PGI will benefit from the decision. They will get all the facilities that have been given to the permanent employees. It also will provide new lease of hope to the contract labours, who are working at PGI, for the past 10 years on the same salary.
Sanjeev Kumar, Principal Contract labour, said, “The salary we get has made it difficult for us to cope with the ever increasing prices of essential commodities due to inflation. We have dedicated 10-15 years in the service of this institute and now it is pay back time for them.”According to sources now the contract workers union is eagerly waiting for the notification to be issued by the Health Ministry, after that only the recommendation will be implemented in the institute.
There are total 11 categories of contract workers who are working at PGI. Among these categories The Medical Records Technician, Data Entry Operator, Store Keeper, dark room assistant, clerk and stenographer are being provided the facility of permanent employees, but the other contract labourers are meted with stepmotherly behaviour.
However the work load of the contract labourers is same as that of the permanent employees but not their remunerations. There are people who are working on same salary for the past ten years. The contract labourers are not entitled to DA and they don’t get bonuses on regular time interval like their permanent colleagues.
Due to four Sundays in a month, the contract labourers get only 26 days of salary. Among these workers are the sanitary attendant, hospital attendant, security guards and other grade four employees.PGI employees union presented the proposal before the administration of the institute, but the authorities refused to budge. After being snubbed, the union approached the Central Advisory Contract labour Board on May 31st 2007 had approached.
Ashwani Munjal, Chairman of PGI’s Employees Union said, “We have been demanding equal work and equal pay for quiet sometime, but no one in PGI paid a heed to it, but the Ministry of labour has taken a note of it and I am happy about it. It is now time for the PGI to think about the well-being of its staffs and implement it at the earliest.”