Controversy surrounds Himachal Pradesh Health Secy’s actions as three outsource employees fired from services
Shimla, Aug 7
The Himachal Pradesh Congress Government faced yet another embarrassment as allegations emerged involving the Health Secretary of the state, M. Sudha Devi, who is a senior IAS officer. Three outsourced employees accused her of assigning them household tasks at her residence, leading to their immediate dismissal when they refused to comply.
The IAS officer denied the allegations and subsequently took leave amidst the growing controversy. The following day, the three employees, who were employed as domestic aides through a private company, were terminated from their positions. The Mission director issued a letter to M/S Sarswati Dot Com. Pvt Ltd, located in Kasumpiti Shimla -9, informing them to replace the Helper-cum-Class-IV employees, namely Sohan Lal, Anil Kumar, and Neena, within two days. These employees had been engaged on an outsourced basis under the directive of Secretary (Health) M Sudha Devi.
The Mission director stated that the decision to relieve these employees from duty stemmed from their reportedly unsatisfactory performance and dereliction of duty in the Health Secretary’s office. Consequently, they were released from their duties on the afternoon of August 4, 2023.
The CITU, a prominent left trade union with a strong presence among various working classes, expressed outrage over the alleged exploitation and victimization of the outsourced workers. The union announced plans to hold statewide demonstrations on August 9, demanding the immediate reinstatement of the three fired workers who were dismissed by the Health Secretary in what they described as a dictatorial manner. The CITU claimed that the terminated employees were forced to perform tasks at the Health Secretary’s residence from dawn till dusk, receiving only a nominal honorarium from NHM.
Dr. Kashmir Singh Thakur, the National Secretary of CITU, emphasized the need for a government-led investigation into the incident and highlighted the exemplary role played by outsourced employees during the Covid-19 pandemic. He criticized the pitiful conditions of outsourced workers, who, despite performing duties equivalent to regular employees, received disproportionately low wages that often went unpaid for months.
The opposition BJP spokesperson in the state, Vivek Sharma, revealed that three NHM employees, one of whom was a woman working on contract, had leveled serious allegations against the Health Secretary in the Himachal Pradesh Government. Despite submitting a complaint to the Chief Minister and Health Minister, no official clarification had been provided by the government.
While successive governments had promised to formulate policies for the regularization of outsourced employees, the CITU’s state secretary, Vajinder Mehra, revealed that around 1800 outsourced employees in the Health Department had been laid off. Moreover, thousands of employees hired by departments like Jal Shakti had also faced layoffs. The CITU demanded that approximately 30,000 outsourced employees, many of whom had served for over 20 years, be granted regular appointments and protected from exploitation and arbitrary terminations by bureaucratic decisions.
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