Dimapur, Dec. 6: Employees of the National Health Mission in Nagaland have announced ‘total cessation’ of work from December 15 to protest the Nagaland government’s alleged failure to release salaries due to them that had been pending.
The employees stated on Tuesday that the state’s government had failed to release funds in spite of directives from the centre to do so to the State Health Society (NHM) within 15 days. ‘Employees of National Health Mission, Nagaland’ issued a press release on Tuesday stating the information.
“The aggrieved employees of National Health Mission and its vertical programme have resolved to cease work from the 15th of December 2016 if all pending salaries are not released by then. A representation regarding this (has) also been submitted to the government on the last week of November 2016,” the press release stated.
According to the group, ‘despite directives received from the ministry to release funds from the state treasury to the State Health Society (NHM) account within 15 days of receipt of funds from (the government of India), the state has not been doing so.’
The employees lamented: “This has greatly hampered the timely release of salary of the employees of NHM and its vertical program, the staff are not paid salary on time sometimes stretching to several months altogether. So far salary have been released only till August 2016 which was done after a gap of more than three months and some program like IDSP and RNTCP till July 2016 after a gap of more (than) six months.”
The hardships that the NHM employees face daily notwithstanding, the statement explained, they have been performing their duties.
“In the month of July 2016 the aggrieved staffs have given ultimatum to the government for regular release of salary. But after releasing the salary of the pending months the same trend is being followed till date. When government can resort to ‘No Work, No Pay’ we will also have no choice but to resort to ‘No Pay, No Work,’” the workers quipped.
The employees have demanded a ‘permanent solution to this problem of delayed release of fund’ from the state government ‘often in spite of the government of India sanctioning it on time.’
