Support staff of Rims protest salary delay
Ranchi: Healthcare services at the
Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences
(Rims) were affected briefly in the first half of Tuesday after employees from the central sterile supply department (CSSD) and the laundry unit protested against non-payment of salaries for the past several months.
The strike threatened the suspension of all cardiac and other critical surgical procedures until noon. Officials, however, claimed that no major problem was encountered during the period.
CSSD and laundry workers, whose responsibilities include sterilising surgical instruments and managing hospital linen, struck work. These workers, who earn between Rs 6,500 and Rs 8,500 per month, claimed that they reached a point of starvation and severe financial distress.
Many reported being deep in debt, unable to pay household expenses or their children's school fees.
Agustin Bakhla, a protester, said, "It's been six months without pay. Our patience has run out. We are drowning in debt and struggling to feed our families."
Pankaj Kumar, another protester, said, "We have issued a written warning to the hospital authorities 10 days before the strike, indicating that we would stop work if our salary issues were not addressed.
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Despite this, the administration reportedly failed to take timely action."
Notably, Rims outsourced CSSD and laundry services to Medilab, a private agency. However, the agency failed to pay its workers for months, citing delayed payments from the hospital. Rims director Dr Raj Kumar said, "According to terms of agreement, Medilab is obligated to continue paying its workers regardless of delays in institutional payments, a clause it clearly violated."
The administration acknowledged that some of Medilab's earlier bills were submitted late, which contributed to payment delays. However, officials affirmed that recent bills were submitted on time and that the institution would clear the pending payments within three days. According to the Rims administration, all services continued without disruption as the strike was called off.
Meanwhile, the employees agreed to return to work after assurances from the administration and a written commitment from Medilab to clear pending dues within a week.
The Rims director has instructed officials to submit a report on the reasons for the strike within five days. "If the contractor is found guilty of violating the tender terms and disrupting essential services, Rims will lodge an FIR against them," Dr Kumar added.
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