With the protest of National Health Mission (NHM) employees entering third day, Haryana Government took a stern action on Thursday and dismissed 53 more employees of NHM for leading the striking employees.
The dismissed employees have been charged with instigating other employees and preventing them from performing their duties thus creating problems for the patients. Two days back, the Government had terminated the services of six NHM employees.
The State Government has also imposed section 144 of Cr PC within a radius of one kilometre of hospitals so as to keep striking employees away from hospitals, said Health Minister Mr Anil Vij while talking to the mediapersons.
As the health services in Government medical institutions continued to be affected due to the strike, the Minister warned that action would be taken against those who would continue their strike.
Vij said that today, a number of striking employees had decided to return to work in many districts.
Those dismissed on Thursday included three from district Bhiwani, four from Faridabad, two each from Hisar and Karnal, six each from Sonipat and Palwal, three from Rewari, nine each from Gurugram and Sirsa, five from Panchkula, four from Jind.
These employees were also creating hindrances for those employees who wanted to perform their duties, said the Health Minister.
Vij said that orders have been issued to all civil surgeons to engage new drivers in place of the drives of Referral Transport, who went on strike, so that patients do not suffer.
The NHM workers had gone on an indefinite strike on Tuesday demanding regularisation of their service and pay at par with their counterparts in other departments. There are more than 10000 NHM workers in Haryana.
On the demands raised by the protesting NHM workers, Vij said that former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, during their regime, had appointed his workers in NHM by setting aside all rules. Now these employees are instigating and forcing others to go on strike. They themselves know that they can not be regularized, yet they are agitating, said VIj.
The Health Minister said that adequate arrangements have been made in hospitals so that patients do not suffer.
A day before, the Minister had directed the concerned officers to prepare for recruitment of fresh staff so as to ensure uninterrupted provision of health services in the state.
He had also directed Director General, Health Services Department, Dr Kamla Singh, to ensure that essential services in all hospitals remained uninterrupted.
A large number of striking employees had met Mission Director, NHM Dr Saket Kumar and appealed to him to reinstate the dismissed employees. However, the Mission Director has denied their demand and had urged them to call off their strike.