‘Permanent job our demand’: Hundreds of paramedical workers hit streets in Bhubaneswar

Slogans of ‘permanent job our demand’ echoed at Lower PMG square in Bhubaneswar as hundreds of contractual paramedical workers on Monday hit the streets over various demands.

Demanding job regularization, hundreds of GNMs, ANMs, Lab Technicians, Pharmacists and other members of the Odisha government outsourcing paramedical employees association staged the agitation.

According to sources, paramedical employees were recruited through outsourcing agencies during Covid-19 and played a huge role in healthcare services during the pandemic. However, they are now allegedly being ignored with no re-appointment and job permanency.

Most of them have been discontinued from their jobs in districts like Ganjam, Balasore and Jagatsinghpur. Expressing outrage, the paramedics have now hit the streets demanding justice.

Among their many demands are a permanent job, appointment through NHM instead of an outsourcing agency and re-appointment of those discontinued from their jobs.

“Our first and top most demand is that our brothers and sisters who were discontinued from their jobs be re-instated. We also demand to be merged with NHM instead of an outsourcing agency and the regularization of our jobs,” a woman agitator demanded.

“The top court recently stated that contractual workers are equal to regular employees. So, the government should take steps to regularize our jobs. Earlier too the Supreme Court had directed the same salary for the same work. If the top courts have already said something, why is the government not following it,” an agitator said.

“Do you want us to go to work as migrant workers? So, I request this government that claims to be people’s government, to look into our plights,” he added.