NHM employees hold statewide strike over job regularisation & equal pay

Guwahati, March 4: Thousands of National Health Mission (NHM) employees in Assam have launched a three-day statewide strike, demanding job regularisation and equal pay. The protest, which began on Tuesday and will continue until March 6, has severely impacted healthcare services across the state.

The NHM workers, who have been serving on a contractual basis for nearly two decades, argue that despite their crucial role in the healthcare system, they continue to be denied financial security, fair wages, and essential government benefits.

The strike has led to a near-total shutdown of non-emergency medical services in government hospitals, medical colleges, district hospitals, and health centres statewide.

In Guwahati, major healthcare institutions, including the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), block hospitals, Community Health Centres (CHCs), Primary Health Centres (PHCs), and civil hospitals, were impacted from the strike. Jorhat has also witnessed significant disruptions, with NHM employees at various health centres halting work, effectively bringing medical services to a standstill.

Similar situations have been reported in Chirang, where the JSB Civil Hospital in Kajalgaon remains largely non-functional, and in Sonitpur, where NHM employees at hospitals in Dhekiajuli have joined the protest.

The protesting NHM employees argue that they have been working under precarious conditions for years without job security or financial stability. 

"We are health workers, and our priority should be serving the people. But today, we are left with no choice but to protest. Many of us have been working since 2006, yet we remain contractual employees with no job security. If we retire today, we will have no pension, no gratuity, nothing to rely on. We are demanding what we deserve," said one prtotester in Jorhat.

In Chirang, another protesting worker highlighted the disparity in wages. "Our permanent colleagues do the same work as us, yet they are paid much more. We work in the same hospitals, treat the same patients, but are denied the salary and benefits they receive. If the government does not address this issue, our protests will only intensify."

The NHM employees have put forward several key demands, including:

• Job regularisation: The government should stop fresh recruitment and conduct a special recruitment drive to absorb contractual NHM employees into permanent positions, similar to the regularisation of Sarba Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) teachers.
• Salary revision: NHM employees should be paid according to the 7th Pay Commission recommendations, until they are regularised.
• Implementation of Gazette notification: The Assam government must fully implement the 2021 Gazette Notification (No: HLA 409/2020/Pt/55), ensuring pensions, death benefits, health insurance, and bank loan eligibility for NHM workers.
• Equal pay for equal work: As per the Supreme Court’s ruling (Verdict No. 213 of 2013), NHM employees should receive the same pay as their permanent counterparts in the state health department.

Despite years of service, many NHM workers feel that their grievances have been ignored. A senior NHM worker in Sonitpur reflected on their long wait for regularisation. "We were promised regularisation every five years, but that never happened. In 2016, we were told we would receive 7th Pay Commission salaries until we were made permanent, but even that promise was not kept. We are left with no option but to fight for our rights," he said.

With over 24,000 NHM employees, including doctors, nurses, and technicians, participating in the strike, Assam’s healthcare system is under immense strain. While emergency services continue, OPD and routine medical services have largely been suspended.

As tensions rise, NHM workers have warned that if their demands are not met, they will escalate their protests further, potentially leading to an indefinite strike.