Strike over,PGI breathes easy

The stalemate was broken after a two-hour meeting between PGI officials and the protesting employees following which the officials agreed to look into the complaint against the chief security officer of the institute. The officer has been accused of slapping Sarita Thakur,a hospital attendant,last Friday,which sparked off a violent protest and the strike. The employees had been demanding suspension of the officer,besides protesting against the delay in payment of their salaries.

“A committee has been formed to look into the complaint,” PGI Director Prof K K Talwar said at a press conference. “There was no such issue that prompted these workers to go on strike as we had set up counters for them to collect their salaries. The five-day strike was unfortunate for the hospital.”

On whether the PGI will withdraw the criminal case against those workers who had damaged its property,the director said: “If any one has done wrong,the law must take its course.”

Talwar said the administration had taken upon itself the task of paying salaries to contractual workers at the enhanced prevailing rates,even though the two contractors had declined to meet their statutory obligations during the months of October and November.

“There was a delay in the disbursement of wages,but it was primarily because we had to get the nod from the Central government. We had entered into a service contract with the two companies and had to look into the legal and other financial issues on how to disburse the money among the workers,” said Talwar.

Negotiations between the two sides were held in the office of PGI’s senior administrative officer in the presence of assistant labour commissioner of Chandigarh.

While the PGI management was represented by senior administrative officer C S Maan and law officer T S Bagga,the employees were represented by Gopal Singh,Kanwaljit Singh,Geeta and Usha Devi.

After the employees called off the strike,more than 600 workers joined duty in the afternoon. They collected the garbage that were piling up,cleaned the wards and bathrooms. In the last five days,the administration had a tough time maintaining hygiene in the hospital. Many workers were engaged by the hospital for sanitation and housekeeping purposes.

“We received support from the governments of Punjab,Haryana and the UT Administration. We were also pleasantly surprised to note that students from the NSS units of Guru Gobind Singh College,Sector 26,Chandigarh,and the Sector 24 Church voluntarily offered their services and helped in maintaining cleanliness on the hospital premises. We greatly appreciate this humanitarian gesture. We are aware that some of these students offered this help at a time when examinations are going on,” said Talwar.