The two hour work boycott called by the association of laboratory technicians caused problems to the patients on Monday. long queue of patients was witnessed at the associated hospital of Government Doon Medical College (GDMC), as the regular lab technicians remained away from work in morning.
In absence of experienced lab technicians, the contractual staff, many of whom are untrained had a hard time managing the pathology lab.
On the demands like cadre restructure, the lab technicians of the State health service are on a path of agitation since past few days. On Monday the technicians hardened their stance and started two hour work boycott.
The work boycott call by the lab technicians has coincided with increased work load due to prevalence of diseases like dengue and viral these days. The regular lab technicians observed work boycott from 8 to 10 am and thereafter collected samples till 12.30 pm only.
The patients faced difficulty to get their blood samples taken in the pathology department. “I am waiting for more than two hour in the queue for providing blood sample. I was informed that the strike of technicians has slowed down the work. The Government should ensure that employees working in essential services like health are not on strike,’’ said Nadeem Khan of Doiwala.
The hospital administration on Monday claimed that the effect of work boycott call of lab technicians was minimal. The Medical Superintendent (MS) of the hospital, Dr KK Tamta said that the contractual lab technicians handled the work. He said that he has written a letter to the Principal requesting him to provide requisite manpower on October 10 when the lab technicians would be on complete strike.
The State President of Uttarakhand Medical lab Technician Association, Rakesh Rawat said that the State health department is paying no heed to the genuine demands of the lab technicians. He said that the lab technicians are determined to continue their agitation till all our demands are accepted. “All technicians of State health service would observe two hour work boycott in this week. If our demands are not accepted all technicians would be on mass leave on October 10,’’ he said.
There are 163 lab technicians in State health services, who are demanding cadre restructure and constitution of service manuals like central Government. The association is also demanding immediate DPC in vacant posts of Senior lab technicians and the appointment of technicians should be on departmental level.