BENGALURU: Nearly 600 contract health workers of NIMHANS and 30-40 health workers of Victoria Hospital protested against their managements on Monday.The NIMHANS workers’ grouse is that if any of them test positive during the course of work, they are denied treatment at the hospital. However, treatment is given to permanent staff.“They have 50 beds to treat permanent employees. But when three contract workers tested positive recently, one was sent by BBMP to GKVK and the other two are at home. We have small homes where social distance cannot be maintained,” said Shivakumar, president of NIMHANS Pragatipara Workers’ Union. Some of them were not paid wages when they had no transport to reach the campus during lockdown, he claimed. Common to both these protests is that the workers have not been extended the Rs 50-lakh health insurance under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan package.

Responding to the strike, NIMHANS director Dr BN Gangadhar said that free testing is done for both permanent and contract health workers, and denied allegations that they were not paid during the lockdown.“Their ESI and PF is paid by NIMHANS to the contractor agency, and they are eligible to avail health benefits under ESI. We are not a Covid hospital but provide treatment to permanent employees who test positive, as they are paying for NHS (NIMHANS health service). Wehave arranged a Covid Care Centre off campus for contract workers as well,” he said. 

A contract worker from Victoria Hospital said, “The place where we are quarantined after one week of duty is not sanitised. Many stay there before they test positive. The PPE kits given to doctors and nurses are of good quality as opposed to what Group D workers, including housekeeping staff and attendants get.”A doctor at Victoria Hospital, who did not wish to be named, said the PPE kits given to all workers are of the same quality. “We clean the quarantine facility but sanitise and fumigate it when someone who is quarantined there tests positive,” he said.