Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, July 26: Jammu and Kashmir Apni Party (JKAP) senior leader and former minister Ghulam Hassan Mir today expressed serious concern over the plight of employees working on contract basis under National Health Mission (NHM) and Revised National Tuberculosis Programme (RNTP).
In a statement issued here, Mir said that thousands of such employees including doctors, paramedics and managerial staff who have been working in J&K for the last over one decade on contract basis are facing discrimination in terms of remuneration and social security.
“A huge number of these well qualified professionals are working as frontline workers in COVID-related activities including testing, contact tracing, surveillance and other hospital duties in almost all Government run healthcare institutions in J&K. But they are simultaneously facing pay disparity and are not covered under any social security scheme of the Government which is totally an injustice with them,” Mir said.
Disparaging the pay anomalies faced by these employees, the JKAP leader said that despite having similar qualifications, experience and working hours as compared to their regular counterparts, NHM employees are being paid peanuts which is against the principle of equal pay for equal work.
He said that despite working on meager wages as compared to regular staff, these employees are not paid wages on time with the result their families are suffering immensely.
Mir said that the Government must acknowledge their role in fighting the pandemic. “Besides, the Government must enhance their salaries and chalk out a social security plan for these hapless employees who are finding it very difficult to meet both the ends,” the JKAP leader remarked.
Demanding regularization of NHM employees the JKAP leader said that the Govt must go for a comprehensive job policy to get all such contract based employees absorbed permanently.
He said that the Government must address the pressing issues faced by NHM employees and prevent them from taking a confrontationist way to get their issues resolved.
The JKAP leader urged the J&K Administration led by Lt Governor GC Murmu to intervene into the matter and ensure injustice to the NHM employees.
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