NRHM temp workers on indefinite strike

Ranchi: Temporary workers under the National Rural Health Mission (NRHM) in the state went on an indefinite strike on Saturday and threatened to disrupt the polio vaccination programme if their demand for reinstatement of 1,892 multipurpose workers.
The Jharkhand Rajya NRHM Anubandhit Karmachari Sangh called for a statewide boycott of the two-phase polio programme beginning on Sunday. If the protest continues, then about 59 lakh children will miss vaccination.
“Contract employees in Jharkhand will stay away from the (polio) programme to protest against the state government’s apathy (to fulfil demands),” said Karmachari Sangh president Rahul Pratap on Saturday.
The 1,892 workers were removed after their contracts expired in September 2014. While thousands skipped work and stalled healthcare facilities across the state, in Ranchi district, 11 multipurpose workers started an indefinite hunger strike at Birsa Chowk on Saturday.
Among other demands are regularization of contract workers, insurance and healthcare facilities and providing monetary benefits.
The 30,000-strong NRHM workforce in Jharkhand is the principal medium for implementation of the polio vaccination program. Saturday’s protest was the first in 2015 and fifth since last year.
Over 30,000 protesters had stalled medical services frequently in 2014. Successive rounds of talks between NRHM hierarchy and state health departments failed to produce any solution and disgruntled employees resorted to strikes time and again.
The state health department, however, said the protests would not affect the statewide polio programme. “We sympathize with them, for they are an indispensable part of the state’s healthcare framework. However, we will rope in more people to man the booths on January 18,” said Sumant Mishra, director of health services. The second phase of the vaccination programme is on February 22.