Police uses force, foils health workers march

Police today used force to scuttle a march by hundreds of National Health Mission (NHM) employees, who are on strike since March 1 demanding regularisation of their services in the Jammu and Kashmir government here.
The striking employees assembled under the banner of All J&K National Health Mission Employees Association at Press Enclave in the heart of the city and tried to march towards the Chief Minister's high-security Gupkar residence here but were stopped by police shortly.
Police initially used batons to disperse the protesters and later burst a few teargas shells after the employees refused to disperse and continued with the march, officials said adding nearly a dozen protesters were taken into preventive custody and lodged at Kothibagh police station.

Condemning the police action, a spokesman of the striking employees said police used batons and fired teargas shells resulting in injuries to a number of employees.
The NHM employees initially had been on a 72-hour pen down strike, which they later extended till today to press for their demands including regularisation of their services.
The strike by 13,000 NHM employees hit the patient care at various district and sub-district hospitals and Primary Health Centres across the Valley.

The NHM employees are demanding equal pay for equal work, regularisation of their services and other benefits on par with other government employees, claiming that most of them have completed about a decade of contractual service and have crossed their age bar limit.

Criticising the government for its approach, senior CPI(M) leader and MLA Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami demanded formulation of a comprehensive policy to regularise the employees working under NHM in Jammu and Kashmir.
"There is a dire need to chalk out a regularisation mechanism for employees, including doctors, paramedical and management staff working under NHM in the state," Tarigami said.
He said these employees are paid only one third of emoluments in comparison to their counterparts in the state which needs to be enhanced substantially keeping in view the nature of their duties and price escalations.
Reiterating for implementation of the recent directions of the Supreme Court regarding the principle of 'equal pay for equal work,' Tarigami said "this is the least that justice can be delivered with aggrieved employees."

He said health sector in rural areas is in bad shape and these NHM employees are the only hope to set this sector on the right track.
"It is shocking that the government has been using brute force against these employees who protest peacefully to get justice," he said adding "it seems that the government has become deaf and dumb and even unwilling to talk to the protesting employees to resolve their genuine demands".
Tarigami asked the government to take the issue seriously and initiate negotiations with agitating employee instead of using "brute force" to resolve the issue.