Around 300 multipurpose health workers of Thoothukudi Medical College Hospital (TKMCH) complained of not receiving the Covid-19 incentive of Rs 15,000 released by the State government for the service they had given at the Covid wards when the pandemic was at the peak during April, May and June last year.

Through an order dated November 2 last year, the state government had sanctioned incentives to all the health workers for dealing with the novel Coronavirus between April and June, providing Rs 30,000 each to the doctors, Rs 20,000 per head to the nurses and post graduate medical students, Rs 15000 each for trainee doctors, paramedical staff, health supervisors, sanitary workers, and others appointed through outsourcing. The Thoothukudi Medical College recievedRs 1.09 crore and the hospital received Rs 1.51 crore.

But, the sanitary workers complained that they did not receive their due incentive despite working at the Covid wards and risked their life. They were recruited as sanitary workers but were involved in multipurpose-works in the medical college hospital. Moreover, different batches of sanitary workers were also collecting and segregation of wastes generated from the Covid wards, shifting patients on stretchers to scan centres, operation theatres, cleaning equipment and intern for the medical department but not getting their full payment as per the fixation of daily wages for the contingent staff.

The Dean of the medical college hospital, Dr N Nehru denied any provision to give incentives to the multipurpose health workers. Workers told that the consumer price index for the fiscal 2021-22, has declared the wages for the multipurpose workers and supervisors as Rs 482 per day and the sweepers as Rs 416 respectively, but their salary was not increased for the past three years and it was difficult for them to run their families with the rising cost of everything.

During the second wave when, the two-third of the sanitary workers withdrew themselves from the work out of panic top officials including revenue officers and doctors, convinced them to join back and assured them adequate welfare and benefits. But , when one of the sanitary worker Prabavathy (45) died due to COVID19 infection in May, 2021, but no proper testing was done.

Still the services of these sanitary workers are needed for the government hospitals as omicron cases are raising and the directorate of medical education had extended the services of the Covid HR that is, doctors, staff nurses, paramedical staff and multipurpose health workers, until March 31, 2022.

Source: The New Indian Express