12 contractual workers sacked for demanding min wages at AIIMS

As many as 12 contractual workers at the AIIMS Trauma Centre were sacked on Wednesday by their employer, outsourced by a private company, for allegedly taking up the issue of not being paid minimum wages.

The sacked employees later alleged that they were manhandled by the police when they raised the concern with the hospital authorities.

As per the Hospital Contractual Workers Union, the private company Sudarshan Facilities Pvt. Ltd. had the contract to hire housekeeping staff for running the services at the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

When the workers demanded that they should be paid minimum wages, the hospital administration called the police.

Meanwhile, the AIIMS in its statement said that though the sanitation and housekeeping staff was not directly employed by it, once it was brought to their notice, they held several meetings with the company officials to sort out the issue.

"But some 5-6 employees created a ruckus one morning at the Trauma Centre and instigated 100-150 other employees to go on a flash strike. They also attempted to disrupt the very important emergency services at the Trauma Centre. This was immediately brought to the notice of the company, which later also lodged a police complaint in this regard," Dr. Amit Gupta, additional medical superintendent of AIIMS Trauma Centre said.

"We don't come in between the company and their employees, but certainly will appreciate that in the best interest of patient care, we would want uninterrupted sanitation and housekeeping services at the AIIMS trauma centre," he said.