AIIMS Delhi employees’ unions threaten indefinite strike from October 25 to press for pending demands

All the three officially recognised employees’ unions of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi have jointly announced they would go on an indefinite strike from October 25 if their 47-point charter of demands, which includes pay hike and appointment, is not met.

The presidents of the three unions – AIIMS Nurses Unions’ Harish Kajla, Karamchari Union’s Satprakash Kalia and Officers Association’s Ajeet Singh – said that they have had several meetings with the administration but their grievances were still pending.

The unions have demanded the implementation of AIIMS Regulation 35 in all employee matters without taking the approval of the Ministry, formation of cadre review committee as there has been no cadre review for the last 30 years, granting of old and new pension scheme, reformation of EHS facilities, enhancement of hospital accommodation, implementation of Kusum Verma Committee recommendations and a monthly meeting with the administration to resolve grievances.

“The employees’ demands from 1990 onwards have been pending. Most of these demands have been implemented in other government hospitals but not implemented here under the claim that it is an autonomous institute. All the employees other than the doctors are involved in the strike. As per the Industrial Dispute Act, we only have to give six weeks’ notice before the strike, but we have given more than seven weeks notice,” said Fameer CK, general secretary of the nurses union.

The union members said that their demands were being shuffled between various ministries.

The Karamchari Union has demanded changing of nomenclature of hospital attendant cadre and DEO cadre, implementation of CAT judgement for pay scale parity and amendment of minimum qualifying exam for promotional posts.

The Nurses Union has demanded the complete implementation of sixth Central Pay Commission pay, inclusion of nurses under R1H1, abolishment of 80/20 gender reservation in recruitment process of nursing officers and implementation of special area allowance.

The Officers Association has demanded implementation of several CAT orders affecting Radiology department, rationalisation of lab cadre, enhanced Learning Resource Allowances (LRA) to all Group A and B officers and filling up of all vacant posts.