Contract health workers, who have been staging an indefinite strike demanding their regularisation were seen resorting to eating straw as a mark of protest against the government in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district.
The health workers have been staging an indefinite strike at the gate of Shastri Park outside the district hospital from December 15 for demanding their regularisation.
On Tuesday, President of contractual health staff, Mukesh Maurya told ANI, "We ate straw as a mark of protest to highlight that our wages are very low salary which gets over within 15 days. It becomes very difficult to maintain the family. We started the protest from December 15 and will continue it till our demand of regularisation gets complete."
"We are sensitive people, we do not want to strike but we are forced to stage the strike due to the policies of the administration," Maurya said.
Contract health worker Abha Saxena said, "There are many vacant places and we can be accommodated on those posts. We have been working as contractual health workers for the last 20 years whereas teachers get regularised after three years. They started getting allowances like regularised but we have been working for the last 20 years in the hope of being regularised."
"A policy was being formed in 2018 which is yet to be implemented. Our only request from the government is that we be regularised. The indefinite strike will continue till our demands get fulfilled. We are service-oriented people and we don't have to cause inconvenience. During COVID-19 pandemic many health workers sacrificed their lives but we are forced to go on strike because the government is not fulfilling our demands," she said.
"We do not want anyone to suffer due to us. When the health workers themselves are suffering then how will they work for the good health of other people. We want to ask the administration why are only health staff not being regularised?," Saxena added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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