Irregular hiring process lead to Strike at IGMC Shimla
Shimla, Jan 4,
Shimla’s Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC) hospital faced major disruptions after approximately 600 outsourced workers went on strike, protesting the termination of 132 outsource employees of various categories. Hospital services, including surgeries, sanitation, outpatient operations, and critical functions such as ECG and laundry, came to a standstill.
The strike, led by the IGMC Contract Workers Union affiliated with the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), highlighted the plight of terminated workers, including sanitation staff, ward attendants, security personnel, ECG technicians, mess workers, laundry staff, data entry operators, and operation theatre assistants.
Issue at the core
The issue stemmed from a government decision notified to Principal IGMC to hire the 213 manpower of different categories on outsourced basis from the authorized services provider after completing all codal formalities as per financial rules in advance for Trauma Centre. The approval required formal procedures, with salaries to be paid from the hospital’s regular budget. However, 132 workers were reportedly appointed by the Medical Superintendent’s office even as the higher authorities had never directed the Medical Superintendent to hire the same.
Instead of floating fresh tenders, existing contractors were asked to supply workers, and an MoU was signed for their services. This procedural bypass resulted in non-payment of dues to contractors, leaving workers unpaid.
When contractors, unable to recover their dues exceeding ₹3 crore, approached the High Court, the situation escalated. The court directed the state government to release pending payments of ₹1.97 crore to M/s Corporate Care and ₹1.63 crore to M/s Shimla Cleanways by December 24, 2024. The Division Bench, led by Acting Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Satyen Vaidya, expressed concern over interdepartmental lapses, tasking the Chief Secretary to resolve the matter.
In August 2024, a meeting chaired by the Health Secretary even saw the Medical Superintendent admit to procedural lapses. The Directorate of Medical Education (DME) was instructed to prepare a detailed report with recommendations, though the report’s status remains unclear.
Ultimately Medial Superintendent discontinued the services of the 132 workers, sparking the strike and demands for reinstatement.
Medical Superintendent IG Hospital, Dr Rahul Rao, stated that as per government direction a approval has been accorded for floating short-term tender notice in view of the emergency to hire the 132 workers on outsource through a registered agency for a period of 6 months.
While administrative efforts are underway to rectify these lapses, the strike underscores critical procedural failings in the governmental setup, which led to operational disruptions.
