Srinagar, Aug 18: Patient care was severely affected on Tuesday in five new Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) in J&K as its non-gazetted begin an indefinite strike over delay in framing of recruitment rules that has hampered the recruitment process.
The non-gazetted employees of GMC Baramulla, Anantnag, Rajouri, Doda and Kathua observed the indefinite strike by holding protests and demonstrations in the premises of the respective medical colleges against the delay in framing of the recruitment rules.
A group of protesting employees at GMC Baramulla said the institution is already facing a shortage of staff and that healthcare does not appear to be a priority sector.
“There are already 150 MBBS seats, 50 PG seats, BSc courses, renal dialysis and radiology courses. This is an additional burden on the already overburdened staff at GMCs,” they said.
The employees said the prolonged uncertainty has left them deprived of opportunities for promotions and career progression. They, however, maintained that the issue extends beyond their service conditions and has implications for the functioning of the healthcare system.
The aggrieved employees said the expansion of a medical college cannot be limited to buildings, beds and machines.
“Every new service requires trained manpower to operate it. Without adequate staffing, even newly established sections and equipment can’t achieve their full potential,” they said.
The non-gazetted employees have been demanding their career progression, but the government is yet to come up with a defined recruitment and promotion mechanism. Similar concerns have been raised by non-gazetted staff of the other four new GMCs.
“This is not merely a problem of non-gazetted employees. It is a problem concerning the entire healthcare system and unemployed youth,” the employee said.
They demand clarity over their service conditions while the government faces the larger challenge of ensuring adequate manpower in expanding medical institutions.
Employees said that in August last year, the Health and Medical Education Department had placed draft recruitment rules for the new GMCs in the public domain, but no further progress was made towards their finalisation.
As per the employees, over 3,000 posts for the five new GMCs were created through a Cabinet decision and subsequently sanctioned vide Order No. 575-HME of 2017 dated October 23, 2017.
The employees, who were appointed through the JKSSB after the establishment of the new GMCs, alleged that several employees have resigned due to the absence of promotional avenues and stagnant salaries which has affected the functioning of these institutions.
