DIMAPUR, JULY 8 (MExN): In protest against non-payment of salaries, employees under National AIDS Control Programme’s (NACP) Targeted Intervention (TI) project are agitating since July 1, 2016. The employees have been wearing black ribbons to “signify that the HIV/AIDS program in the state is dead,” a press release issued by a forum of the aggrieved employees informed.
This is their first phase of agitation, which was launched following the failure of the Nagaland State AIDS Control Society (NSACS) to respond on the issue.
The forum said it had submitted a representation addressed to the Chairman of NSACS on June 21, 2016 through email (NSACS email) requesting release of their salaries for seven months from December 2015 to June 2016 before June 30.
The representation was forwarded with appended signatures from 495 employees from all the eleven districts where TI project under NACP is being implemented. However, the concerned authorities chose not to reciprocate, the forum stated. Highlighting their grievances, the forum lamented that the non-release of salaries has led to untold misery of the employees, whereby they are forced to “beg and borrow to sustain their livelihood.”
This has also greatly decreased the commitment level of the TI employees while some of the most efficient and trained staffs have resigned from the office, it added.
The forum cautioned that the employees under NACP TI project would continue to wear the black ribbon for the next ten days, after which the forum will launch its 2nd phase of agitation.
