DIMAPUR, NOVEMBER 4 (MExN): Aggrieved employees under the National Health Mission (NHM) Nagaland have once again appealed to the Nagaland State Government for release of fund so that salaries for the employees, which has been pending since August 2017, along with increments and arrears are released.
In an open letter to the Department of Health and Family Welfare, the aggrieved employees cautioned that they would go on an indefinite pen-down strike starting November 10 if their demands are not met and written assurance given by the concerned authority.
“It is unfortunate that we have to take this course of action and publicly publish our grievances to draw the attention of the authorities to release funds for our pending salaries, increments and arrears. We, the employees under National Health Mission, are made to work without salary since the month of August 2017 and again we are made to fight for our own salaries,” the letter stated.
It pointed out that without salaries, employees have to face lots of financial difficulties making it hard for them to perform their duties efficiently and also fulfill financial commitments to their families.
The letter lamented that the financial troubles of NHM staff have been neglected by the higher authorities. “The staffs under NHM are the backbone of the health services in the State, timely release of our salaries should be the priority of the State authority so that employees perform their duties effectively and efficiently. Our demand for the release of our fund to release pending salaries and timely release of our salary henceforth are within reasons and our grievances are genuine,” it said.
It further questioned: “Why do we have to constantly demand the release of our salary? Shouldn’t it be the duty of State Authority to see that all the employees under its authority are paid regularly? Why is the State authority not releasing our pending salaries when there are funds made available by the Central Government for our salaries?”
The aggrieved employees informed that this trend of delaying salaries has been going on for the past 6-7years. Sources from within the aggrieved employees further revealed that employees under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) of the NHM in Nagaland have also received salaries only till June 2017.
The letter meanwhile stated that “unless the employees protest publicly, the higher authorities take no heed of requests for release of salaries.” The employees therefore urged the state authority to find a permanent solution to this issue and not put the employees under further grievances.
The aggrieved employees of NHM Nagaland cannot continue to work without salaries any further, the letter stated, and said that they have been left with no other avenue to “make our voices be heard unless drastic measures are taken.”
