Staff of Mother and Child Hospital in Udupi on strike again

Mangalore Today News Network

Udupi, Feb 21, 2022: Medical services, except emergency care, at Koosamma Shambhu Shetty Memorial Haji Abdullah Mother and Child Hospital in Udupi was disrupted on February 21 as the staff, including doctors and nurses, struck work demanding release of their salary from November 2021.

 

The para medical, ambulance, laboratory, housekeeping and hospital management staff also joined the indefinite strike. The hospital has 153 employees.

Earlier, the hospital had 320 employees. As the hospital, also called B R Shetty hospital, was not paying their salary on a regular basis, many had left in search of better opportunities. The staff had resorted to an indefinite strike in August 2021 pressing for release of salary regularly. Later, the management had removed 16 staff members from service.

On February 21, the striking staff demanded that the management put an end to the issue of irregular salary.

A staff member, Neetha Shetty, said that many of them do not have money to pay the bus fare due to non-payment of salary. “If the management pay the salary regularly, all staff members will work hard to provide the best service to patients.”

She said that the matter had been taken up with the management and Udupi MLA K. Raghupathi Bhat a fortnight ago, but in vain. “If we approach the management, they direct us to meet the District Surgeon who, in turn, asks us to settle the matter with the management,” she said.

Another staff member, Prakash, who is a manager, said that except emergency services, all out-patient and in-patient services have been stopped. He said that the management says that the salary issue should be taken up with the government.

Many women and children from Perdoor, Hiriyadka and Kundapur, who had gone to the hospital for treatment on February 21, had to return without treatment.

Courtesy:The Hindu