Delhi: Not paid in 10 months, OT staff on contract at Lok Nayak Hospital go on strike

Hired in 2021 during the pandemic, the 47 contractual technicians part of the strike, including OT and lab technicians, claimed they had not received their payment for the last 10 months despite writing to Medical Director Dr Suresh Kumar several times. “We haven’t been paid since April last year,” said Harsh Madhukar, an OT technician working with the hospital for close to three years.

The staff are deployed to assist doctors with surgeries in OTs and ventilators in ICU wards, and look after patients administered anesthesia before surgery. The hospital has a total of 120 permanent OT technicians.

Pradeep said in December 2022, a termination circular was issued by the state health department. “We moved the Central Administrative Tribunal against the termination order and it put a stay on it in January. However, despite that, our salaries are on hold,” Pradeep said, alleging that the termination order came despite vacancies at the hospital. He has been working with the hospital for almost three years. He added that almost all technicians have taken personal loans to sustain themselves.

The technicians later said they met the medical director who sought 10-15 days to resolve the issue, adding that they would resume work Tuesday.

A senior doctor at the hospital said the hiring of these technicians was done as per the requirement and against the vacancies in 2021. “In fact, there is a shortage of technicians and paramedical staff at the hospital,” he added.

When contacted, Dr Kumar said he is looking into the matter and a decision will be taken soon. “As the matter is being heard in court, I cannot say much,” he added.

A Delhi government spokesperson, meanwhile, said the salaries of technicians have not been paid as the finance department has been stopping funds to various departments for the last few months. “It has been raising multiple objections to files and this, in turn, has led to stoppage of salaries, payments to contractors, and many other problems. The file for their (OT technicians) salaries is also with the finance department. With control over all officers now in the hands of the central government, there is no action against officers who are wilfully causing hurdles in the working of departments of the Delhi government. This is causing pain and suffering to the people of Delhi,” the spokesperson added.