RAIPUR
The Chhattisgarh government has issued an ultimatum to nearly 16,000 contractual employees of the National Health Mission (NHM), who have been on strike for over 27 days demanding regularisation of their services. The state’s health department has warned that if the striking workers do not return to their duties, their positions will be considered vacant and they will be terminated from their jobs.
Chhattisgarh Health Minister Shyam Bihari Jaiswal said the government has already agreed to four of the workers’ ten demands and a committee has been formed to address three others. The minister urged the employees to end their strike and return to work, stating that the government has taken positive steps on all their demands.
However, the striking workers remain unmoved by the government’s warning. The NHM employees’ association stated that the government has not provided any written assurance to fulfil even a single demand. The health services in the state have been severely affected by the ongoing strike.
Congress Accuses Govt of Unfair Practices
The Congress party has criticised the government’s stance, with Chhattisgarh Congress communications head Sushil Anand Shukla stating that the NHM employees’ demands are “absolutely justified.” He accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of breaking its 2023 assembly election promise to regularise the workers, a guarantee that was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pre-election commitments.
Dr Rakesh Gupta, president of the Congress medical cell, said the government is choosing a path of “suppression” instead of dialogue and resolution. He warned that the Congress party would take to the streets in protest if the workers are harassed.
The NHM employees have been on strike since 18 August. To show their resolve, some workers set up makeshift food stalls selling ‘gupchup‘ (pani puri), ‘bhelpuri‘, and local snacks like ‘fara‘ and ‘cheela‘ at the Tuta protest site in Raipur.
