Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Apr 11: Scores of NHM paramedics working under the Emergency COVID Response Package (ECRP) protested here today, demanding the continuation of their services.
Scores of paramedics gathered at Partap Park, Press Enclave under the banner of All Jammu and Kashmir NHM- ECRP employees’ association to demand the continuation of their services. They claimed the Government hired them as frontline workers in 2019 and is now abandoning them by terminating their employment.
The protesting paramedics claimed that they had been the ones who had to deal with the worst effects of COVID for years, but they were now being left to fend for themselves. “We worked during a period when the situation was critical. At a time when no one wanted to work, they hired about 160 people. We were working with PPE kits in extreme temperatures. We want the government to continue our services, “a protestor said.
He said that nearly 800-200 employees are waiting for their absorption like other NHM employees. “We want the government to absorb us in the same manner and treat us like normal NHM employees, or frame a job policy in our favour,” another protestor said.
They claimed that they deserved continuation of services because they worked in a dire situation when no one wanted to leave their homes. “We contacted every Government official in order to re-engage with them,” another protestor said.
They urged Lt Governor Manoj Sinha to look into the matter so that they would not face any further difficulties.
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