Srinagar: The Employees Joint Action Committee (EJAC) Jammu and Kashmir has expressed serious concern over the ongoing protest by employees of the National Health Mission (NHM) and urged the Government to intervene immediately and resolve their genuine and long-pending issues in a time-bound manner.
In a statement, Senior Trade Union leader and EJAC President Fayaz Ahmad Shabnam said that the NHM employees constitute an important component of the healthcare delivery system in Jammu and Kashmir and have been rendering their services for years under demanding circumstances across Jammu and Kashmir. He urged the Government to adopt a sympathetic and positive approach towards the concerns of the protesting employees and initiate meaningful dialogue with their representatives so that the ongoing protest is brought to an early end.
Mr. Shabnam said that the demands being raised by the NHM employees are genuine and deserve due consideration. These employees have been continuously contributing to the healthcare system and serving the people of Jammu and Kashmir. He said that the concerns of these employees relating to remuneration, pay disparity, job security and social security cannot be allowed to remain unresolved indefinitely.
The EJAC President stressed that the issue of pay disparity with NHM employees working in other states needs to be examined objectively, keeping in view the nature of duties, responsibilities and length of service of the employees.
He further urged the Government to formulate a clear and comprehensive policy for job security and regularisation so that employees working under NHM are not left in uncertainty regarding their future.
Fayaz Ahmad Shabnam said that while the interests of patients and uninterrupted healthcare services must remain paramount, a prolonged agitation can be avoided only through constructive dialogue and a mutually acceptable resolution.
Mr. Shabnam expressed hope that the Government would respond positively to their genuine concerns and take necessary measures to end the present impasse.
