Saturday 9th December, 2023

A work-to-rule by the radiological technologists attached to Apeksha Hospital, or the National Cancer Institute, Maharagama, entered the fourth day yesterday. It has affected thousands of cancer patients as radiographers have stopped working overtime in protest against a Health Department decision not to pay them for extra work. Patients who travel from faraway places to Apeksha Hospital for treatment are the worst affected. They have been left without anyone to turn to.

The public health sector has earned notoriety for labour disputes of all sorts. Hardly a day passes without a protest being reported from a state-run health institution.

The health authorities apparently do not care to get the representatives of protesting workers around the table at the first sign of trouble and make a serious effort to sort out the issues that give rise to trade union battles. Instead they let the grass grow under their feet at the expense of the sick.

Trade union action that worsens the suffering of cancer patients cannot be countenanced on any grounds, and this is something the protesting radiographers should bear in mind. But the health authorities are to be blamed more than the protesting workers for this sorry state of affairs; they should not have stopped paying for radiographers’ extra work.

After all, this is a country where the MPs are paid for attending Parliament! Atop their salaries, legislators are paid an attendance allowance. Most of them walk into the Chamber and go away. Hence, Parliament often has inquorate sessions even during debates on vital Bills. There have been instances where even the Ministers billed to open debates were not present in the House. But some health workers are being denied payment for extra work! Radiographers face unique occupational health hazards and must not be denied payment for working overtime.

Meanwhile, all state employees have to abide by the rules and regulations in place to track their attendance. Complaints of bogus overtime claims abound in the health sector. This is a very serious issue, which has gone unaddressed.

It was revealed at a recent COPA (Committee on Public Accounts) sub-committee meeting that about 213 biometric fingerprint scanners purchased at a cost of Rs. 31 million to track health workers’ attendance remained unused due to protests by trade unions. Health workers claim that they work at irregular hours and therefore cannot use those machines. If they can sign attendance registers, there is no reason why they should refuse to have their fingerprints scanned. They are paid by the public and should uphold transparency in recording their attendance if they have nothing to hide.

The protesting radiographers were having a meeting at the time of going to press. One can only hope that the health authorities will soften their stand and the trade union dispute at Apeksha Hospital will be over soon. Cancer patients’ suffering must not be aggravated.