Mangalore: Sacked hospital workers threaten hunger strike

The Hindu

MANGALORE: The 18 contract security guards who were recently dismissed from Government Wenlock Hospital have threatened to go on a hunger strike even as they staged a dharna for the past four days under the banner of the Democratic Youth Federation of India.

The protesters told The Hindu on Friday that their agitation had been completely ignored by the hospital authorities. The guards, who lost their jobs after the hospital’s security and cleanliness services were outsourced to Kasturba Medical College, said they were being made to constantly shuttle between the authorities of the hospital and those of the KMC.

District president of the DYFI Muneer Katipalla expressed shock at what he described as the “insensitive” attitude of the officials and said, “These senior officials pass by these protesting workers every day. Do they not even have the basic humanity to understand their suffering?” He said that the authorities were trying to prevent the sacked cleaning staff from joining the protest.

“They are being given false assurances of reinstatement in order to prevent them from joining the protest,” he said.

Meanwhile, Assistant Labour Commissioner Venkatesh Shindihatti said that his office had initiated an inquiry into the alleged non-payment of minimum wages to the contract workers of Wenlock hospital and violations of basic human rights.