Telangana government hospital contract staff to launch State-wide protests from today

Sanitation, patient care and security workers employed in government hospitals across Telangana are set to launch a series of protests from December 2, to press for a revision of their salaries. The call for agitation has been issued by the Telangana Medical Contract Employees and Workers Union, which has alleged that workers have been denied minimum wages for more than three years.

In a statement on Monday (December 1), Union President and General Secretary Yusuf and M Narasimha said that Telangana had introduced the Integrated Hospital Facility Management Services (IHFMS) system in 2022 for a three-year period to manage sanitation, patient care and security operations in government hospitals. At the time, workers were assured that wages would be paid in accordance with G.O. No. 60. The workers are currently being paid about ₹11,000 per month, despite the order mandating a salary of ₹15,600. The union alleged that private agencies were exploiting loopholes in the tendering process to suppress wages.

“Representations were submitted to senior health officials in November and no actions have been taken so far. In response, workers will stage a one-hour protest in all government hospitals from December 2 to 4. If the government does not intervene, a large dharna will be held outside the offices of Director of Medical Education (DME) and Telangana Vaidya Vidhana Parishad (TVVP) on December 5,” the union said.