With salaries pending for the last three months, staff at the Miri Piri Hospital in Shahabad went on an indefinite strike from Friday.
While the emergency services, ICU, dialysis, delivery and scheduled surgeries will remain functional, the OPD services have been stopped. Nearly 600 patients visit the OPDs daily.
The employees, under the banner of Miri Piri Karamchari Sangharsh Samiti, on Friday staged a dharna at the hospital and raised slogans in support of their demand.
They said that the dispute between the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee (HSGMC) and the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) has badly affected the services of the hospital.
While the HSGMC has refused to clear the dues, claiming that it was yet to take over possession, the SGPC has also refused to provide the budget after the Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled in favour of HSGMC in May.
The employees said that their salaries must be cleared soon as they had been finding it hard to manage their household expenses. They also said that both committees should resolve their issues and make it clear that who will run the hospital.
Earlier, the HSGMC had assured the employees of clearing the salaries but due to the ongoing conflict within the committee and budgets not being passed, the committee failed to provide the funds.
Secretary of Miri Piri Trust Sukhminder Singh said, “Earlier, the HSGMC leaders were eager to take over the possession of the institute, but after learning about the financial position and requirement of budget, they didn’t turn up. Nobody stopped them from taking possession. The SGPC had been managing the hospital and providing an adequate budget for healthcare services, but after the court’s order, it was the HSGMC’s duty to financially support the institute. The high court’s order of May has been challenged, and the notice of motion has been issued for July 27. If the matter is decided in the favour of SGPC, it will again start funding the hospital.”
HSGMC President Jagdish Singh Jhinda said, “The Haryana committee is yet to take over the possession of the hospital, and will start providing funds after getting the same. It is still being managed by the trust, headed by the SGPC president; hence, it should continue to fund the hospital and ensure its smooth functioning till the possession is taken over by the Haryana committee. The trust has challenged the court’s order and we are also taking legal opinion.”
Meanwhile, CEO of Miri Piri Institute, Dr Sandeep Inder Singh Cheema, said, “The staff has gone on strike, but the emergency services and some other critical care services are being provided.
The matter was taken up with the HSGMC president, but the issue remains unresolved. We have requested the SGPC to fund the hospital, and we are hopeful of getting a positive response.”
