Integrated Disease Surveillance Project(IDSP) contract staff to suspend work
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, May 13 2012: Launched under the noble theme of 'Healthy Village, Healthy Nation,' by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the Integrated Disease Surveillance Project in Manipur stands on the brink of being derailed as a large number of contract staff has decided to suspend their work, pending certain demands.

The contract staff of IDSP, Manipur decided to launch the cease work strike demanding extension of their service within 15 days from May 9 and pending payment of 8 months salary.

Pending the demands, the contract staff have stopped data reporting, Weekly Communical Diseases Report, Early Warning Signals and Outbreak Reports to the State Surveillance Unit as well as to suspend uploading the data to the IDSP web portal in all the nine districts of the State.

Talking to newsmen at the ICDPS office at Kwakeithel today, Epidemiologist, Nongmeikapam Enaoba said that the Project was launched under the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare under the theme, 'Healthy Village, Healthy Nation' in 2005 .

The work entails collecting information and data from the village level so as to keep a tab on the spread of any disease.

The project took off the ground in most of the States of India in 2006, including Manipur, he said and added that 10 Data Managers, 11 Data Officers and three Epidemiologists were appointed on contract basis to get the project off the ground.

Even as the staff started venturing out to the village to collect data and conduct field assessment, their salary was suspended without any notification from 2011, he alleged and added that the assurance that their services would be extended has remained unfulfilled.

To protest the non-extension of their service as well as to demand the pending salary, the contract staff, totalling 24, decided to cease work from May 9 this year, he added.

However they have not stopped attending office though they have suspended network service.

Written submissions have already been forwarded to the Health Commissioner and the Health Director to release their pending salary as well as for service extension, but there has been no response so far, said the contract staff.

The matter has also been highlighted to the National Project Officer, IDSP Delhi, Health Commissioner and Family Welfare, they added.

Giving vent to their frustration, the contract staff alleged that till today, the State Surveillance Officer has not been discharging his responsibilities.

Drawing the attention of the Government the aggrieved contract staff urged the department concerned to extend their service as well as release the pending salary for eight months that is from September 11, 2010 till April 2012 .

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