Doon Hospital sanitation services hit as housekeeping staff strike over pay disparity

Dehradun: Patients and their family members have been forced to clean hospital rooms and washrooms themselves at Government Doon Medical College Hospital as an indefinite strike by housekeeping workers has disrupted sanitation services for the third consecutive day.

The strike has left several areas of the hospital without regular cleaning, raising concerns about hygiene and the risk of infections, particularly for patients recovering after childbirth. 

A woman admitted to a private ward following a delivery has been relying on her mother to clean the room and washroom. The patient's mother said she took up the task herself because the facilities had not been cleaned since her daughter's admission.

“The condition of the washroom is also unbearable. I have cleaned it myself so that my daughter, who has recently given birth, does not get an infection and visitors can use it,” she said, TOI reported. 

The ongoing strike has also affected three destitute patients who depend on housekeeping workers for basic assistance. Nursing staff said these patients were earlier helped with bathing and cleaning, but have been left without such support since the agitation began. 

Housekeeping workers said they were continuing to clean the intensive care units (ICUs) on humanitarian grounds but would not withdraw the strike until their demands were addressed.

The general secretary of the housekeeping union said the administration had repeatedly sought more time to consider their demands but had failed to provide a clear timeline.

“We were earlier told that the documents submitted by us were being checked, but no timeline was set. When we raised our demands again last week, we were asked to meet finance controller Sanjiv Kumar Singh. His office told us it had received no instructions to process our demands. This broke our spirit and led us to begin the indefinite strike on Saturday,” he said, TOI reported. 

The agitation centres on alleged pay disparity and the government's failure to implement an earlier assurance of revised remuneration for all housekeeping employees. The workers had called off a similar strike in September after being promised a pay revision by the end of that month. However, they alleged that the increase was extended only to a few Grade 4 employees, leaving others on their previous wages.

Medical Superintendent Dr RS Bisht said a committee would be formed to facilitate the process and that a positive resolution had been reached during Monday's meeting. The workers, however, said they were awaiting a written order and a definite timeline for addressing their demands.