VINAY KOCHHAR.AMRITSAR/CHANDIGARH.
An Indian laborer is taking a daily wage of Rs. 500 (per month salary of Rs. 15000), whereas, an outsourced employee of a civil hospital working for the government is being paid Rs. 400 per day (per month salary of Rs. 12000). A really crude joke is being made. On top of that, his salary has been stuck for the last 2 months. We are in need of two square meals a day. The household is living with great difficulty by taking loans from the market or borrowing money from relatives. This is the condition of Mann Sarkar, who leads the Aam Aadmi Party of the state. Before gaining power, he had promised to give confirmation to all the employees and increase their salaries. But, these employees were cheated a lot.
About 50 outsourced employees have been working in different departments in Amritsar Civil Hospital since 2015. The special thing is that on a low salary they are performing their duties with great hard work and dedication. There was never any complaint from his department. But, the pending salary for the last two months has completely ruined their household budget. According to them, if they protest, they become afraid that their jobs might be snatched away.
It has been revealed that in the year 2015, outsourced employees were appointed in different civil hospitals across Punjab. Appointed by a private company. It is learned that the name of the company is Innovision OUTSource. The company’s office is in Gurugram. Their contract is with the government. The government gives approximately Rs 17000 per month per employee. Further they give only Rs 12 thousand to the employee. In the initial period, each employee was hired at the rate of Rs 9200. Only Rs 2800 was increased in about 9 years.
According to the employees, everyone from the government to the contracting company is making complete jokes. With such a salary, it becomes so difficult to survive at home that many times one feels like leaving this job, but when one sees the family, one has to console one’s mind in order to move forward with courage. If they get a monthly salary even at DC rate, then perhaps it can be good for their life. But, the government would not want to do this at all. The government says only one thing: that there is not enough budget for them.
The department does not take any headaches.
In fact, one aspect has also come to light that the department also does not make any special effort in getting the salaries of these outsourced employees quickly. Investigation has revealed that every officer of the department is happy by throwing the ball of his side into the other’s court. Overall it does not cause any headache. Yes, they know that their salary reaches their account every month. Now they do not need to make any more efforts for these employees. If the OPD of Civil Hospital is not there, if there are no services from these outside sources then the entire system will collapse within a day. On top of that, the department also takes extra work from them.
Outsourced employees said in hushed tones that
They have been serving in different departments for 9 consecutive years. Work with full dedication from morning till evening. If any patient has any problem in their department, it is dealt with on priority. He always considers work as his religion and duty. But the sad thing is that they have never received their monthly salary on time. There is sheer shock happening with them. On top of that, I am getting a salary of only Rs 12000 per month. The household is making ends meet with great difficulty. It is necessary to have a hope in mind that perhaps someday they too will become permanent employees. There is a fear in protesting, because they will be fired from the job and others will be given the opportunity in their place.
It is a matter of shame… the officials have no answer.
It is a shame that any big person in the Civil Hospital The officer does not even have any answer to this problem. An official is saying that the government does not have money, so nothing can be done now. Other officers can explain their problems better than me. A female officer dealing with this department does not even know how many outsourced employees there are and for how many months their salaries are pending. She just kept claiming to be busy with VC.