CHENNAI: As the employees stir at Voluntary Health Services (VHS) hospital is inching up towards a month, a large number of them have unanimously urged the state to take over the hospital. Staging a large demonstration at Memorial Hall on Monday, almost 250 workers asked for the Chief Minister to heed their call and bring the administration of the hospital in Taramani, under the state’s control. “There was a similar proposal in the state assembly in 1996, but nothing came of it. Hopefully Amma will be able to give us some respite,” said one of the striking nurses.The demands of the nurses, ward staff, blood bank technicians and lab technicians are very simple. “Though we cannot except pay on par with private hospitals, we at least require a reasonable amount for sustenance,” said Mani, a representative of the South Chennai Hospital Workers Union. At present, the hospital is paying these workers between `4,500 and `6,500 depending on their experience, he added. “We had pressed for a 130 percent hike but the management says they cannot afford more than 20 percent. This is unacceptable," he vented.A meeting with the management of the 54-year-old hospital and the employees union has been arranged on Wednesday. If the management offers them a 75 percent raise, workers are willing to back down and return to work. However, hospital authorities, when contacted, said that they were barely managing to stay afloat with the huge deficit that their free clinic is incurring. The deadlock has caused the 350 bed hospital to shut down services, thus causing a problem for middle class people in the South Chennai belt.
Comments
0 comment