More than 200 contract employees, mostly staff nurses, gathered on the premises of the new Government General Hospital in Vijayawada on Wednesday, after the State government informed them that their demands for regularisation of services and 100% gross salary cannot be met.

Two months ago, the contract employees working in the medical field staged a dharna in Vijayawada, following which Minister for Health, Medical and Family Welfare Satya Kumar Yadav assured to come up with a solution within a month’s time.

In September, members of the A.P. Medical and Health Contractors Employees’ JAC were called for a meeting. The health officials informed them that while their demands for grant of various leaves, a structured transfer policy and regular recruitment of paramedical staff were considered and that some of these were accepted in prinicple, the government cannot concede to their demand for regularisation and payment of gross salary.

The officials, according to sources, said the government is not in a position to bear the additional expenses arising from these two demands, citing the present financial situation of the State. Following the negative response to their chief demand, the JAC announced a Maha Dharna across the State from Tuesday.

“How long can we keep silent when our colleagues, regular staff, get all the benefits and increased pay while we are paid less for the same work,” asked a staff nurse from the GGH, Vijayawada. The contract nursing staff are paid ₹38,000 while the regular staff are paid more, including the benefits such as Dearness Allowances, risk and night shift allowances, PF, paid leaves, among others.

Another nurse, Swetha (name changed), working at a Primary Health Centre in NTR district, explained how she has spent years hoping that things would change. “Everytime the government changed, we hoped that the new regime will hear us out. But, all the governments have failed us,” said Swetha, who has been in the field for 20 years.

Despite thinking of quitting many a time due to increased workload, she says she continued working because she hoped that her services would be regularised. To her and her family, a government job matters a lot. “My father was a police officer, and he wanted me to be a government employee too. But I have spent most of my life toiling at a job that is not even appreciated and the dream of regularisation seems distant now,” she said. Pointing to the dire situation, Swetha said she even discouraged her daughter from taking up studies in the medical field.

Like Swetha, most of the contract staff nurses in the State have given their service for years. JAC leader and head nurse at the Vijayawda GGH Padma pointed out that recruitments for regular staff nurses were last held in 2010. Since then, all the nursing graduates have been either joining private sector or are working as contractual staff at government hospitals hoping for regularisation.

Ms. Padma said the agitations would continue across the State until the government responds positively to the two main demands. The JAC leader said if regularisation of all 15,000 contract employees at once is not possible, the government should at least take it up seniority wise, and if that is also not possible, it should pay gross salary.