14,000 contractual workers of National Health Mission quit as stir enters 19th day in Chhattisgarh

Over 14,000 contractual staffers of the National Health Mission (NHM) in Chhattisgarh have submitted their resignations en masse after the Health Department on Wednesday terminated the services of 25 employees leading their agitation seeking the implementation of a 10-point charter of demands.

The stir, which entered its 19th day on Friday, is posing a two-pronged challenge to the BJP government, with health services severely impacted across the State and the Congress cornering it over its handling of the issue.

The NHM employees have been agitating since August 18, demanding regularisation of services, better pay, and other perks. The protest has affected essential health facilities, such as nutrition rehabilitation centres, and the health check-ups of children in government schools and anganwadis.

According to government officials, the NHM executive committee had accepted four of the 10 demands in its meeting on August 13. However, the employees’ union claims that the government has not taken concrete steps to implement them.

‘No room for dialogue’

“We do not want to continue the strike, but the government is leaving no room for dialogue,” said Hemant Kumar Sinha, one of the dismissed staffers. “If thousands of employees are protesting over the same set of demands, why are you selectively dismissing only 25? We will intensify our strike,” he said.

Dr. Priyanka Shukla, State Mission Director, NHM, claimed that the government had taken action to resolve the issue. “Two demands – transparency in confidential report evaluation and 30 days of paid leave in cases of exigency or serious health issues – are already fulfilled. Two more demands – a 27% salary hike and a minimum of ₹10 lakh cashless health insurance – were accepted and are under process for implementation,” she said.

Ms. Shukla added that a State-level committee headed by the NHM joint director has been formed to examine demands relating to grade pay, compassionate appointments, and transfer policy. This committee will review HR policies applicable to contractual employees in other departments and present recommendations at the next executive committee meeting, she said.

“The remaining three demands – regularisation, creation of a public health cadre, and reservation in recruitment to regular posts – can only be taken up at the highest level of government,” she said, adding that despite several demands being considered, NHM employees have continued their strike.

However, Mr. Sinha said the government should issue notifications for the demands it claims to have met. In response, Ms. Shukla said while notifications have been issued for most demands, there are contractual employees in other departments too and in some specific cases, circulars can only be issued after consultation with other departments, including general administration and finance.

“During the 2023 Assembly poll, the BJP’s manifesto promised to resolve the problems of contractual health workers, mentioning [PM Narendra] Modi’s guarantee. But after 20 months of the formation of the government and after giving more than 160 memoranda to the Chief Minister, Health Minister, Finance Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, MLAs MPs, there was no hearing. So, 16,000 NHM employees decided to protest, which has been going on since August 18,” Dr. Amit Miri, State president of the NHM workers’ union, said.

Explaining that the NHM workers have several categories, from doctors to nursing and sanitation workers, he said in some cases a regular employee draws almost three times the salary of a contractual worker for doing the same kind of work.

The Hindu visited a district hospital in Raipur on Friday. While it bore a deserted look due to the day being a government holiday and only emergency services being offered, a staff member said even on regular days services have been impacted. The situation is worse in the far-flung health centres in the State, said NHM workers.

With NHM workers accusing the ruling party of going back on its promises on regularisation and a couple of its own MPs supporting the 10-point charter of demands, the Opposition has found a new issue to corner the government.

The Congress accused the State government of “fuelling the unrest” through its inaction. “The NHM workers are on strike and the BJP government is taking brutal action against them, lathi-charging them and threatening to send them to jail. Action has been taken to dismiss more than 25 NHM employees. The Congress condemns it. This is the dictatorship of the government. The BJP has done the work of lying in the name of Modi’s guarantee. At the time of the Assembly election, the work of regularising NHM employees and Mitanins was done. Now, the government is harassing them instead of accepting their demands,” said State party chief Deepak Baij.

Former Deputy Chief Minister and senior Congress leader T.S. Singh Deo acknowledged the non-regularisation of contractual employees as a “big reason” behind the defeat of the Congress in the last Assembly poll.

BJP’s MPs Vijay Baghel and Brijmohan Agrawal have also expressed support for the NHM workers.