Capital Hospital sanitation workers oppose new tender holder, stage demo

The sanitation workers of the Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar on Monday staged a demonstration in front of the hospital director’s office demanding fulfillment of several demands. 

About 250 sanitation workers took part in the agitation, opposing the new tender holder. 

“The fresh tender has been awarded to a new person. It is being discussed here that he would replace the old workers with the new ones. It seems to us that the hospital director may have had his share from the new tender holder,” alleged an agitating worker. 

“Now we are getting Rs 10,500 excluding the PF and ESI. He is asking us to work for Rs 8,500 which we don’t want to. We have been working for the same salaries as our old employer for the last 10 years. Our demand is that new tender means our salaries should also be hiked,” he added. 

“The new tender holder is saying that he would get the work done with 100 workers while we are 250. Where the rest would go?” asked another fumed worker. 

The agitating workers’ demands include EPF EST registration of every worker, no retrenchment of workers without valid reasons and Durga Puja bonus. 

When contacted, the Director of Capital Hospital, Dr Laxmidhar Sahu said, “For every outsourcing service, tender is floated. As per the direction of the Health Department, the tender will be awarded to a new person on September 16.  We discussed with the old workers and informed them that all of them would be retained and they would get the same salary and we told them that there would be no anomaly in EPF EST.”