Govt will revise compensation of contract workers soon: Karnataka Health Minister

The Karnataka government on Thursday said it will soon revise the compensation of the contract and outsourced workers employed in the Health and Medical Education department.State Health Minister K Sudhakar assured that the government will also take measures to fulfill other demands of contract workers including health insurance coverage, 10 days paid leave per year, maternity and paternity benefits.The Minister said this after meeting with the workers who are on strike at Bengaluru freedom park.The protesting contract workers have placed a demand that their wages should be equivalent to permanent employees.

The Karnataka government on Thursday said it will soon revise the compensation of the contract and outsourced workers employed in the Health and Medical Education department.

State Health Minister K Sudhakar assured that the government will also take measures to fulfill other demands of contract workers including health insurance coverage, 10 days paid leave per year, maternity and paternity benefits.

The Minister said this after meeting with the workers who are on strike at Bengaluru freedom park.

''The protesting contract workers have placed a demand that their wages should be equivalent to permanent employees. The Union and State governments have taken up 49 programs jointly for a given period of time. Hence, it is difficult to make them permanent employees. However I assure that all efforts will be made to increase the wage,'' Sudhakar said.

The protesters have also demanded extension of the health insurance scheme and 10 days of paid leave. The government will make a sincere effort to fulfill all the demands of the contract workers, and is committed to protecting the interests of all workers within its limitations, he said.

Noting that people have placed a lot of trust in the public healthcare system and healthcare cannot be provided by mere physical infrastructure, the Minister said it is the doctors, healthcare workers and their efforts that will ensure delivery of healthcare services to every citizen and it is impossible for us to progress by hurting the workers.

''There are some legal and technical difficulties to fulfill certain demands. The government will take a comprehensive view of the issues and try to fulfill as many demands as possible. Karnataka is one of the leading states in the entire country in terms of healthcare and we must work further to strengthen it,'' he said, as he requested all the protesting workers to end their strike and resume their services.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)