The protest by members of the Karnataka State Dialysis Workers’ Union, which entered the third day on Saturday, took a new turn when one of the protesting technicians attempted to end his life by consuming poison.
The 46-year-old technician Ramu from Aurad in Bidar district was rushed to the Trauma and Emergency Care Centre (TECC) on Victoria Hospital campus in the afternoon. Doctors at TECC said he had consumed an insecticide used in agricultural farms. He was immediately administered treatment, and a stomach wash was done at the hospital. Asserting that his condition is stable, doctors said he will be under observation for a day.
Following this, top officials from the Health Department convened a meeting with the union members and assured them that their demands — of immediate payment of pending four months’ salaries, ESI and PF benefits of 29 months and arrears for 20 months — would be resolved in a few days. As the members demanded they would not disperse till they got a written order, the department issued an order for the release of four months’ salaries and allocation of funds for other pending benefits on Saturday night. Following this, the union called off the strike late in the night.
Job security
The protesting members, who are also demanding that the government commit to job security, said this demand was yet to be considered by the department.
“Although the government has called new tenders for the dialysis service and the process of allotting work is underway, we have no guarantee of job security. There is a fear that our services will be terminated by the new service provider as retaining the old staff is not one of the tender conditions. We want the government to give us job security irrespective of who is the service provider,” said union president Chetan S.K.
The strike has hit over 3,500 renal patients undergoing dialysis in 124 government-run units across Karnataka. Patients due for dialysis on Wednesday either missed the life-saving procedure or were forced to get it done a day before. The situation worsened on Saturday for many who were due for dialysis.
Srinivas G.A., State Deputy Director in charge of the dialysis scheme, said alternative arrangements had been made at the centres by involving technicians from private nursing homes to ensure patients do not miss their dialysis.
