District CMOs appeal for immediate intervention
Morung Express News
Kohima | June 14
The “Cease work” agitation of the National Health Mission employees has further pried open a glaring chink in the Nagaland Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) Department’s armour— workforce shortage. The agitation was in reaction to the state government regularizing the post of 27 recently appointed contractual doctors, bypassing appointment guidelines.
With a workforce of 1876 employees, including doctors, nurses, paramedical staff and technicians and others, the effect of their agitation was felt on Sunday.
It has had the district CMOs writing to the higher ups seeking immediate intervention, stating, “This has created acute unprecedented crisis in addition to the already existing manpower shortage at a time when NHM employees are the backbone for facility quarantine duties.”
The letters also pointed out that the health department is “…not in a position to pool human resource from the blocks as most of the regular staffs are aged with co-morbidities and not well versed with the programme management particularly on COVID-19.
Also the regular technical staffs too are fully engaged in their respective health centres/blocks on COVID-19 activities.”
Further stating that the cessation of work has placed the health management system on the verge of collapse, the CMOs requested the H&FW to address this issue on an urgent basis.
Meanwhile, NHM Mission Director Dr Kevichusa Medikhru made a desperate attempt to pacify the agitating employees. In a letter to the National Health Mission Employees Association, Nagaland (NEAN), Dr Medikhru made an appeal to call off the agitation, while stating, “The Department is willing to give impartial hearing to the demands of the NHM employees and urges them to come forward for open discussion for redressal of their grievances.”
He termed the act of the employees as “regretful” and unprecedented” giving no prior notice to the department to respond.
However, he maintained that the department has initiated steps to address the issue and even inviting “your team for discussion on the matter today itself, which unfortunately could not materialize due to unresponsiveness from your end.”
Speaking to The Morung Express, NEAN President, Dr Shasinlo Magh said that it declined the Mission Director’s call since there was no written statement on the decision of the Department in regard to their demands.
According to him, the agitation today was successful and it will continue till the government meets their demands. NEAN units from various parts of the state also issued press releases expressing their solidarity with the decision to ‘cease work’.
Dr Magh also conceded that the ‘cease work’ was not without inconveniences. However, he maintained that the government’s discriminatory decision “compelled us to take this step.” “It clearly indicated that they have no policy for the NHM employees by way of increasing the salary, neither giving employees benefits nor regularising our job as sought.”
He reminded that the NHM employees have submitted a memorandum years back followed by numerous reminders for employee benefits in line with the regular employees.
“When the government could go all out to recruit new people and give regularisation order even before they join their duties, then how come NHM doesn’t have the right to claim for regularisation, when they are rendering their services for so long?” he questioned.
The NEAN also took exception to the H&FW Principal Director’s “order” to the CMOs issued today instead of coming up with a plan to resolve the issue.
The PD’s “order” stood in stark contrast to the NHM Mission Director’s call for “open discussion.” It directed the CMOs and Medical Superintendents to ensure that all the NHM employees attend to their duties, while warning of “necessary disciplinary action.”
“Further it is to be noted that any GNM and ANM who fails to perform their duties from the 15th of June 2020 will be forfeited from the queue system/batchwise appointment into the regular post,” the order stated. It also directed district authorities to submit by 1:00 pm on June 15, the list of employees failing to report to work.
