STATE TIMES NEWS
JAMMU: President of NHM Employees Welfare Association Jammu, Dr Pradeep Thakur welcomed the decision of High Court for staying termination order of Dr Rakesh Kotwal and Dr. Asfia. Thakur, in a statement issued here on Wednesday, urged government to take steps to protect the fundamental rights of NRHM employees, like provision of paid maternity, paternity, earned, medical leave to NRHM employees for which they have continuously approached the concerned authorities. Also, while approaching the authorities the association has justified the demand for the same by providing order copies of various states with provision of these leaves with salary, but unfortunately, there has been no step taken in this direction by State Government of J and K.
NRHM employees have been working wholeheartedly in the harsh living conditions in far flung areas, as well as harsh service conditions as there is no job security for NRHM employees, rather being prone to insecurity and exploitation- to provide best health care facilities to poor, downtrodden and hapless in the rural areas to attain the goal of health for all for the past almost ten years but there has been no policy to regularize NRHM employees inspite of clear directions from Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India to regularise NRHM human resource.
It is pertinent to mention here that many a times NRHM employees have to knock the doors of Court of Law to seek the justice and salary disparity case of Ayush doctors working under NRHM is one of them, in which there was judgment of single bench and double bench of High Court in favour of AYUSH doctors of NRHM. Despite this, the case was dragged to Supreme Court against the concerned NRHM employees by the State Government but Supreme Court had dismissed the SLP of Government against double bench of High Court, presently the same case is under contempt.