Staff Reporter :
A total of 68 workers, many of them working for 15 years in National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery at Dhaka Medical College Hospital do not get salary.
The workers observed a token hunger strike for making their permanent appointments as they have been working for years without any formal appointment.
They observed the programme in front of the institute from 11:00am to 1:30pm.
DMCH Director Brigadier General AKM Nasir Uddin, Burn Institute Chief Professor Dr. Sajjad Khandokar, Coordinator of the Burn Institute Dr. Samanta Lal Sen, and Professor Dr. Abul Kalam met the workers and assured them that they would speak with the Health Ministry about the matter.
Leaders from Third and Fourth Class Workers Association and Nurses Association of Dhaka Medical College Hospital joined the programme and expressed their solidarity with these 68 irregular workers.
The workers said that most of them were working at the public medical unit for last 15 years without a single penny from the government.
It is unbelievable but true. The story is about 68 unemployed workers of National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery at Dhaka Medical College Hospital.
“We have been working for years without any payment from government. We maintain our families by the tips of the patients taking treatment in the unit. We are working in the hope that the government will appoint us soon. But it cost 15 years,” said Jibon Mian, the President of the irregular workers.
He said, when the government is taking initiative for giving appointment in the institute, a vested quarter is creating obstacles.
Another worker Habil Mian said, “We are working together by shift. We are working from cleaning the hospital floor to every corner, at OT Complex, HDU, ICU, Office and Doctors rooms.
Some of them are working as ward boys, MLSS, Electricians, Dressers and an auto-operative operator.
Sources said, the then Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit was established in 1987 beside the DMCH.
Health Ministry renamed the unit as National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in 2013.
