“Forced to strike due to the government’s broken promises,” says State President.
Patiala, 24 March
The strike by all National Health Mission (NHM) employees in Punjab, organized under the NHM Employees Union Punjab, severely disrupted healthcare services across the state on its first day today. This action is part of a protest program designed to press the government to address their legitimate demands. The statewide strike saw enthusiastic participation from NHM employees in every district of Punjab.
Speaking on the issue, State President Dr. Wahid stated that before the elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had promised to regularize all contractual NHM employees once in power. However, despite three years of AAP governance, not a single NHM employee working under the Health Department has been regularized. He emphasized that NHM employees meet the qualifications required for their positions and were recruited through a proper process. Yet, for the past 15 years, these contractual healthcare workers have faced economic and mental exploitation under the contract system.
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Dr. Wahid added that despite nearly 30 meetings with the union over the past three years, the government has failed to fulfill even a single demand. “Time is slipping away quickly,” he remarked.
General Secretary Gulshan Sharma accused the AAP government of backtracking on its election promises, warning that approximately 10,000 health officers and employees serving under NHM in the Health Department would soon take to the streets in protest and intensify their strike. He held the state government accountable for the inconvenience caused to the public due to the healthcare workers’ strike, asserting that they were compelled to take this step for their rightful demands.
Providing details about the ongoing struggle, Sandeep Kaur Barnala noted that during the last session of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, the issue of contractual employees was not discussed with the seriousness it deserved, leading to widespread resentment within the union. She warned that if the state government continues to ignore their demands, all NHM employees will be forced to go on strike. She made it clear that the state government is entirely responsible for the impact on healthcare services across Punjab.
State leader Dinesh Garg added that if the government does not address these legitimate demands promptly after this three-day strike, the union would soon announce a more aggressive course of action.
Present at the occasion were Dr. Jaspreet Kaur, Kuldeep Kaur, Monica, Hema, Vivek Bhagat, Sonika, Gurdev Singh, Manpreet Kaur, Ravinder, Vijendra, Parminder, Jasveer Kaur, Sapna, Harish Kumar, Lavlinder Singh, and other employees, showing solidarity in the movement.
