Support staff of Rims protest salary delay
Ranchi: Healthcare services at the
Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences
(Rims) were affected briefly in the first half of Tuesday after employees from the central sterile supply department (CSSD) and the laundry unit protested against non-payment of salaries for the past several months.
The strike threatened the suspension of all cardiac and other critical surgical procedures until noon. Officials, however, claimed that no major problem was encountered during the period.
CSSD and laundry workers, whose responsibilities include sterilising surgical instruments and managing hospital linen, struck work. These workers, who earn between Rs 6,500 and Rs 8,500 per month, claimed that they reached a point of starvation and severe financial distress.
Many reported being deep in debt, unable to pay household expenses or their children's school fees.
Agustin Bakhla, a protester, said, "It's been six months without pay. Our patience has run out. We are drowning in debt and struggling to feed our families."
Pankaj Kumar, another protester, said, "We have issued a written warning to the hospital authorities 10 days before the strike, indicating that we would stop work if our salary issues were not addressed.
by Taboola
by Taboola
Sponsored Links
Sponsored Links
Promoted Links
Promoted Links
You May Like
Click Here - This Might Save You From Losing Money
Expertinspector
Click Here
Undo
Despite this, the administration reportedly failed to take timely action."
Notably, Rims outsourced CSSD and laundry services to Medilab, a private agency. However, the agency failed to pay its workers for months, citing delayed payments from the hospital. Rims director Dr Raj Kumar said, "According to terms of agreement, Medilab is obligated to continue paying its workers regardless of delays in institutional payments, a clause it clearly violated."
The administration acknowledged that some of Medilab's earlier bills were submitted late, which contributed to payment delays. However, officials affirmed that recent bills were submitted on time and that the institution would clear the pending payments within three days. According to the Rims administration, all services continued without disruption as the strike was called off.
Meanwhile, the employees agreed to return to work after assurances from the administration and a written commitment from Medilab to clear pending dues within a week.
The Rims director has instructed officials to submit a report on the reasons for the strike within five days. "If the contractor is found guilty of violating the tender terms and disrupting essential services, Rims will lodge an FIR against them," Dr Kumar added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Manipal Health Enterprises leads race to buy Sahyadri Hospitals with Rs 6,838 crore bid
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel IPO-bound Manipal Health Enterprises is leading the race to acquire Sahyadri Hospitals with a Rs 6,838 crore ($800 million) bid, people familiar with the matter said. It is trailed closely by Blackstone , they the sources did not reveal the financial terms of the global investment firm's offer, the strong interest in the Pune-headquartered hospital chain owned by Canada's pension fund Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (OTPP) is symptomatic of the high-intensity consolidation ongoing in India's hospital space. IHH Healthcare-backed Fortis Healthcare and EQT Partners also submitted bids on June 23, which was the last day to submit binding financial offers were termed 'uncompetitive' by people ET spoke with. Manipal, Blackstone, Fortis and OTPP declined to comment. EQT did not responded to ET's queries until press time acquired Sahyadri from Everstone Capital in August 2022 at a valuation of around Rs 2,500 crore, outbidding Max Healthcare. Everstone had bought the hospital chain three years earlier in 2019 from its founder, neurosurgeon Charudutt Apte, for about Rs 1,000 crore. ET first reported on December 6 last year that OTPP was planning to put Sahyadri Hospitals on the block. In May, ET reported that Manipal Health, Singapore's IHH Healthcare, Blackstone-owned hospital chain Quality Care India, KKR & Co and EQT Partners were among those that had submitted initial bids for Hospitals operates 11 facilities across Pune, Nashik, Ahilya Nagar and Karad, comprising 1,300 beds, 2,500 clinicians and 3,500 support staff, according to information available on its website. Sahyadri Hospitals is estimated to have posted Rs 210 crore in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation on revenue of Rs 1,200 crore in FY25, said a fund manager at one of the bidding private equity Manipal Health, commonly known as Manipal Hospitals, the deal could provide a muchneeded strategic foothold in western India, where it currently lacks a significant presence. In June 2025, KKR invested $600 million in debt into the Manipal Group to support its accelerated expansion and corporate growth IPO-bound Manipal Hospitals, the second-largest hospital chain in India, has been on an aggressive acquisition spree. In 2023, it acquired an 84% stake in Kolkata-based AMRI Hospitals in a deal valued at Rs 2,400 crore. Two years earlier, it bought Columbia Asia's Indian operations for Rs 2,100 crore.
Time of India
3 hours ago
- Time of India
No road, ailing woman carried on cot to hospital in Simdega
Gumla: A 65-year-old woman from a remote village in Simdega was carried on a cot for nearly four kilometres to reach the nearest roadhead for her onward journey to the hospital due to lack of a pucca road. On Saturday, Gango Devi of Chundiyari village developed a severe back pain after taking a fall at her home. The lack of a road in their village meant an ambulance could not reach her doorstep. Locals of the village then stepped forward to help. They carried Gango on a cot and trekked through the undulating terrain to reach the state highway at Barpani. With the ambulance parked at the highway having broken down, locals then pooled money, hired a private ambulance and took her to the hospital. Jyoti Prakash Kullu, the mukhiya of Keshalpur panchayat, said this was not the first such instance. "On April 16, a pregnant woman from the same village was carried on cot to the roadhead and then to a hospital. Despite the issue being flagged several times, local elected public representatives and govt officials have been ignorant," he said. Besides Chundiyari, adjoining villages in Pakartarn panchayat are also facing the same problem. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 「たった10秒」ぽっこりお腹やってみて！ 大正製薬 続きを読む Undo "No proposal has been made for building a road. Neither has an engineer visited the area," Rajat Lakra, mukhiya of Pakartarn panchayat, said. As the video clip of Gango went viral, BJP's state president Babulal Marandi criticised the state health department. Stating that such an incident was shameful, Marandi wrote on X, "It is a shame that such incidents are happening when the Hemant Soren govt had allocated Rs 3,497 crore for health and Rs 5,300 crore on road and bridge infrastructure. Where did all this money go? We know the answer to that." Stating that the incident had exposed the prevalent corruption in state, Marandi asked Hemant to ensure that such a thing is not repeated. Responding to Marandi's allegation, state health minister Irfan Ansari said, "The terrain is hilly and hence ambulance cannot reach Chundiyari village. I have rolled out a bike ambulance scheme to ensure people in far flung areas get the benefits of health services. Change will to show on the ground gradually." With inputs from Ranchi
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Low dose, high pressure: Doctors refuse to operate under bond-age
Patiala: Hundreds of young doctors walked off the job at Govt Medical College on Saturday, forcing a near-total shutdown of outpatient care and non-critical procedures here, as anger mounted over low stipends and compulsory service bonds in Punjab's public health system. More than 500 resident doctors and medical students launched an indefinite strike, paralysing services and demanding the state govt address what they call untenable working conditions. At the heart of the protest are calls to scrap the two-year compulsory post-MBBS service bond and increase stagnant stipends, which the doctors say are among the lowest in the country. "The govt has ignored repeated appeals. We've been left with no choice," said Dr Ramandeep Singh, who led the protest alongside colleagues Dr Milan, Dr Mehtab Singh, Dr Akshay, and Dr Gurbhagat Singh. The doctors also oppose a proposed hike in MBBS tuition fees at govt colleges to Rs 10 lakh, which they argue will deepen the financial strain on students. Patients seeking consultations and scheduled surgeries were turned away at the hospital gates, many voicing support for the doctors. "They're the ones who save lives. They shouldn't have to protest for fair treatment," said one patient outside the shuttered outpatient department. While emergency, maternity and critical child health services remain operational, the Resident Doctors Association has vowed to continue the strike until the govt offers written assurances.
