Contractual staffs shut Malaria Office, Lab over pay demand
Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, July 30 2012:
Demanding payment of 10 months' due salary and renewal of identity cards of the Contractual Staffs under National Vector Born Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP), Multipurpose Worker Association (MPWA) has closed down the State Malaria Head Office and Malaria Laboratory at Lamphelpat from today.
The Contractual workers under NVBDCP who are members of MPWA stormed the Malaria Head Office located at Lamphelpat today afternoon and locked up the office of State Malaria Officer and the Malaria Laboratory.
A tussle also broke out between the agitating staffs and the State Malaria Officer when the latter tried to lock his office.
Speaking to media persons in connection with the agitation, RK Gyaneshwar, President of MPWA said that since 2009, around 100 contractual staffs appointed under NVBDCP have been performing their duties in all the districts of the state in compliance of the guidance given by the Central Government.
However, they have been deprived of their monthly salaries since October 2011.Moreover, the identity cards of the contractual staffs have not been renewed.
A number of complaints have been made to the authority concerned in this regard, no positive response have been ever given.
As such, MPWA decided to close down the office of Malaria and the laboratory at Lamphelpat, Gyaneshwar explained, adding that the agitation of the contractual staffs is also being carried out at the district level as well.
He further informed that when the contractual staffs went to the State Malaria Officer to highlight their problems, the officer simply stated that he could not do anything and told them to do it on their own.
This type of irresponsible words from a top government official is really unfortunate and it is an act of underestimating and neglecting the staffs, he lamented.
Gyaneshwar also asserted that ever since the present State Malaria Officer takes over the post in 2010, the Anti Malaria Month has not been observed and the Annual Report not published.