JnK Medical College employees to strike from August 18 over recruitment rules

Srinagar: An indefinite strike by non-gazetted employees of five new Government Medical Colleges (GMCs) in Jammu and Kashmir is set to begin on August 18 over the prolonged delay in framing recruitment rules, with employees warning that the uncertainty is affecting their career progression and healthcare services.

According to news reports, employees at GMCs Baramulla, Anantnag, Rajouri, Doda and Kathua have decided to go on strike, alleging that the process of framing recruitment rules has remained pending for nearly six years. They said the absence of clear service rules has left employees uncertain about their career progression, promotions and prospects.  

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The employees, however, said the issue goes beyond their service conditions and could have wider implications for the functioning of the healthcare system. 

GMC Baramulla, for instance, has expanded considerably since its establishment. Its MBBS intake has increased from 100 to 150 seats, while the hospital's bed capacity has also grown. Several new departments and sections have been added, along with sophisticated medical equipment. 

However, employees claimed that nearly half of the sanctioned posts across the five new GMCs remain vacant. At GMC Baramulla, 541 posts have been sanctioned, of which nearly 50 per cent are reportedly vacant.  

Employees said the shortage has placed an additional burden on existing staff, with some sections functioning with significantly fewer employees than required.

“Where there should be three employees in a section, sometimes only one is managing the entire workload. It ultimately affects patient care. Patients have to wait, services can be delayed, and the quality of attention that a patient should receive becomes difficult to maintain,” an employee of GMC Baramulla said. Employees argued that expansion of a medical college cannot be limited to buildings, beds and machines. “Every new service requires trained manpower to operate it. Without adequate staffing, even newly established sections and newly installed equipment cannot achieve their full potential,” they said, reports the Rising Kashmir.

Non-gazetted employees of GMC Baramulla staged protests in 2025 over the delay in framing recruitment rules, highlighting concerns over career progression and the absence of a defined mechanism for recruitment and promotions. Employees of the other four new GMCs subsequently raised similar concerns. 

In May 2026, employees of the five institutions also went on an indefinite strike over the issue. However, they said the matter remains unresolved.

“This is not merely a problem of non-gazetted employees. It is a problem concerning the entire healthcare system and unemployed youth,” the employee said.

According to the employees, the Health and Medical Education Department placed draft recruitment rules for the new GMCs in the public domain in August last year. However, they said there has been no significant progress towards their finalisation.

The employees further stated that more than 3,000 posts for the five new GMCs were created through a Cabinet decision and subsequently sanctioned through Order No. 575-HME of 2017 dated October 23, 2017.

They said the J&K Health and Medical Education Department later issued an executive order for one-time recruitment and referred the posts to the Jammu and Kashmir Services Selection Board (JKSSB) through Order No. 133-JKHME-2018 dated February 19, 2018.

The employees have urged the government to adopt recruitment rules on the pattern of GMC Srinagar and GMC Jammu to ensure career progression and promotional opportunities for staff working in the five new medical colleges, reports the Rising Kashmir.

With the proposed strike beginning August 18, employees have urged the government to address the issue at the earliest and prevent further disruption to services at the five expanding medical institutions.

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