Manjeri Hospital Staff booked for raising salary concerns
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Kozhikode: Several temporary staff members at Manjeri Government Medical College Hospital were booked by police after they attempted to raise concerns over two months of unpaid salaries during a visit by Kerala Health Minister Veena George on August 12.
The employees had gathered at the hospital premises to draw the minister’s attention to their financial hardships when she arrived after attending an inaugural event to visit a patient. However, tensions escalated when activists from the CPI(M) and DYFI, reportedly accompanying the minister, allegedly tried to stop the workers from approaching her. This led to a commotion, prompting the hospital authorities to lodge a complaint.
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According to TOI, the employees have been booked under BNS sections 189 (2), 191 (2), 192 and 190. The move to register cases against temporary employees drew protests, with Youth Congress activists staging a protest march to the principal's office on Friday, demanding withdrawal of the complaint, and said that it was part of a move to dismiss the temporary workers.
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Hospital development committee member and Manjeri municipal vice-chairman V P Firos said that taking vindictive action against employees who raised a just demand cannot be approved."We were present at the spot, and the employees had not created any kind of tension. They were telling the minister about the hardships they were facing due to non-payment of salaries. The commotion was created following an attempt by CPM and DYFI activists to push and remove the employees from the spot," he added, reports TOI.
In response, Principal Dr. Anil Raj defended the hospital’s decision to file the complaint, stating that while employees have every right to express their concerns, they should not have done so in a way that disrupted official proceedings or posed a risk of public disorder.
