Close to 1,200 Class-IV employees of Nizam’s Institute Medical Sciences (NIMS) went on a flash strike on Tuesday seeking redress of their long pending demands.
The boycott had an immediate impact on medical services, as the striking workers are employed in every department of the hospital.
House keeping services, including cleaning of the floors, changing bed sheets, toilets and segregating biomedical waste were hit. Services at in-patient and outpatient departments were crippled as ward boys and ‘aayas’ too joined the flash strike.
Workers manning the cash counters, computer operators, electricians, maintenance workers and importantly staff responsible for the hospital upkeep also boycotted their duties.
Doctors helpless
“It’s utter confusion. There is nobody to receive patients, transport the critically ill in stretchers and take them for laboratory tests and in-patient wards. Biomedical waste is yet to be cleared. We are asking the patient’s relatives to bring them in stretchers,” helpless doctors maintained.
Relatives who brought the critically ill were despondent. “Nobody here is helping us. There are no ward boys, cleaning staff and women helpers. It took us close to 10 minutes for us to get hold of a stretcher and take my son to the critical ward at the trauma centre,” says Ramakrishna, who brought his son with viral fever to NIMS.
The Class IV employees, including 450 women workers, are demanding permanent posts and promotions. In fact, a month ago, representatives of the NIMS Contract Employees Union had served notices on the management warning of a strike.
“There are 250 employees among us who have been working here for the past 25 years.
They have to be regularised. Unskilled employees, who have worked for three-years at NIMS, should be promoted to the skilled labour category.
At present, employees with 25 years of experience are getting a salary of just Rs. 6,700,” complained union president K. Eshwar Rao.
