Lab technicians, assistants stage dharna on permanent appointment issue

Rajkot: Laboratory technicians and assistants working at civil hospitals, community health centres and district panchayat hospitals all over the state staged a dharna on Saturday, demanding for their long-pending permanent appointment in their respective institutions. Having worked tirelessly during these difficult times of the Covid-19 pandemic, these front line workers are up with banners asking for their just demand.
Altogether 400 protesters raised their demand by placing banners outside their working premises and submitted memorandum to their head of the institutions in Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Surat, Bhavnagar and other parts of the state. It is worth mentioning that the government had appointed pharmacists, X-Ray technicians, laboratory technicians and laboratory assistants in 2012-13.
‘‘While people in other categories have been given regular appointment after five years these laboratory technicians and assistant are still working on contractual basis. The reason is that there was some irregularities in the merit and a petition was filed in the Gujarat High Court. The court disposed the petition but even then because of some administrative reasons they are yet to get the orders of permanent job.” said Yogesh Patel, secretary of the Medical Technicians Association of Gujarat.