Sanitation workers at Fever Hospital up in arms

The sanitation workers numbering 75 at the Fever Hospital are once again planning to go in for a strike this week if they do not get salaries by Thursday, July 6. This would be the fourth time in the past 12 months that the workers would be striking.

A member of the Telangana Medical Contract Employees & Workers Union said that three months’ salary is pending. Laxmi (name changed on request) who has been working at the hospital for the last 17 years says, “The sanitary workers do bulk of the work, are paid the lowest salary and are the worst sufferers who get paid only once in three to four months.”

The workers are left stranded as the hospital management says that they cannot do anything about the delay and the workers need to approach the contractor Krystal Integrated Services Ltd. One of the 18 security guards at the hospital said that when they contact the services, they standard reply is that the government has not released the funds.

Whenever the workers go on strike the patients suffer as the cleaning of wards comes to a standstill. On an average, the OP at the hospital is between 400 to 500 and during rainy season it could cross 1,000. In all there are eight wards with 350-bed capacity.

There are 45 Female Nursing Orderly (FNO) and Male Nursing Orderly (MNO) at the hospital but, only a few do night duty. A sanitary worker said that barring a few regular employees, it is the contractual workers who work during nights.

A senior doctor at the hospital said that the bills are expected anytime and the salary would be paid but workers say that they want a permanent solution. Another issue is the filling up of patient helpcare workers in the hospital as there are a few sanitation workers and during an epidemic it gets difficult.