Plea for inclusion of substitute health workers in contributory pension scheme
Substitute health workers who were recruited to the government medical college hospitals through employment exchange starting from 1991, citing Government Orders and court orders, demand their inclusion in the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).
Regarding their demands and the development that unfolded over the years for including them in the CPS, the Tamil Nadu Government Medical Department All Workers Sanitation Workers and Nursing Assistant Union have submitted a report with the State committee head Gagandeep Singh Bedi.
M. Venkatachalam, founder president of the union, narrating the events, said that starting from 1991, 384 'substitute health workers' were recruited for assisting the Group-D workers employed in the medical college hospitals in Chennai, Thanjavur, Tiruchi, Salem, Chengalpattu and Coimbatore.
Their recruitment was to discharge the work of the Group D workers when they were absent for e duty. As their positions were deemed temporary, several associations and unions demanded service regularisation, pension and leave benefits for them. Heeding to their demands, the State government, in 2007, through Government Order 149 made the 384 workers permanent with a condition that they must have completed 10 years of service by January 1, 2006.
As the workers' services were regularised only after 2003, the year notification for new pension scheme was given, the government said they would be included under CPS.
After that, G.O. 408 was issued by the State Finance Department in 2009 to include five years of service before 2007, the year when they were made permanent, to consider them as eligible for pension.
Following this the association moved the Madras High Court for including them in the old pension scheme as it was the government which failed to make them permanent for those who had joined the service even back in 1991, Mr. Venkatachalam said.
As the government went against the order, a two-judge bench of Madras HC ordered the substitute workers to be included in CPS itself, he pointed out.
But, in the aftermath of the court orders, the government again denied pension citing the CPS condition that the substitute workers have not completed 30 years of service, he said.
It was true that the workers have not fulfilled the 30 years service condition and that could not be their fault as it was the State which recruited them as temporary workers. 'If the same government has made them permanent seven to eight years ago, then they will be declared eligible,' he added.
How could they bear the burden of the government's mistake. Even after several developments which assured the 384 workers their employment rights, the State government was yet to provide them their pension, he said.
By recording the pleas of the workers and their grievances, a report had been submitted to the CPS committee with the belief that their demands would be considered for their inclusion, he said.
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