Punjab’s Department of Health and Family Welfare on Sunday made an appeal to the employees of the National Health Mission (NHM), who are on strike, to join back their duties and resume work immediately. “The Department has taken a decision to appeal to all the employees, who are on strike, to join the duties latest by April 20, and those who do not join by the stipulated date, their contracts shall not be renewed and notices for termination of the contracts shall be pursued,” said an official spokesperson.
He said that the state Health and Family Welfare Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani has already stayed the orders of rationalisation of salaries after the employees’ union raised objections to the same. The Health Minister, after having several rounds of talks with the unions of the National Health Mission employees, constituted a high-level committee under the chairpersonship of Chief Parliamentary Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Dr Navjot Kaur Sidhu, comprising senior officers of the Department of Health and Family Welfare and members of the employees’ unions, to look into their demands and submit a report within one month’s time.
It has been observed that despite number of steps taken in this direction, the employees are still not joining their duties as a result the public is inconvenienced in availing essential healthcare services. The Department has already issued orders regarding no-work-no-pay for the employees who are on strike and it is being enforced. “The Department once again appeal to the employees on strike to join back their duties latest by April 20, 2015 failing which the Department would be compelled to pursue their cases for issuing notices for termination of their contracts,” said the spokesperson.