Employees of the two defence production units in Tiruchi -- Ordnance Factory and High Energy Projectile Factory -- have joined their counterparts across the country in resisting the purported move by the Defence Ministry to hand over hospitals and dispensaries in the residential townships to the State Government.
Upon learning that the Secretary of Defence Production had written to Chief Secretaries of the State Governments proposing takeover of the hospitals and dispensaries, the AIDEF (All India Defence Employees' Federation), BPMS (Bharatiya Pratiraksha Mazdoor Sangh) and CDRA (Confederation of Defence Recognised Federations) made a detailed presentation to the Defence Minister justifying the importance of retaining the hospitals and dispensaries under the Ministry's care.
The Ordnance Factories Medical Regulations (OFMR) entails provision of occupational health services to civilian employees working in ordnance and ordnance equipment factories and their allied establishments, the employee unions said in their letter to the Defence Minister.
The OFMR guarantees healthcare entitlement of employees and their families through ordnance factory hospitals and clinics, and specifies provisioning of hospital stores, equipment, appliances and diet, the letter said.
There are several instances of public sector undertakings having hospital facilities. Defence PSUs like HAL and BEML have their own hospitals, C. Srikumar, General Secretary of AIDEF, pointed out.
During the first phase of COVID-19 crisis, ordnance factory hospitals were declared as Covid Care Centres. There cannot be any justification for taking away the 29 ordnance factory hospitals and dispensaries and handing them over to the State governments or other agencies, Mr. Srikumar said.
