The agitating trade unions of the health workers in Taplejung, which had called health service strike across the district from Monday, have softened their stance after the District Administration Office assured them that it would give priority to their demand -- the search of a disappeared health worker. 

Health workers in the district had stopped working to pressurize the district administration to expedite the search for their colleague, Chhedilal Sah, who disappeared over one and half months ago. 

After the talks with District Administration Office and agitating health workers´ trade unions, it is likely that the disrupted health service across the district would resume soon. The agitating side was ready to reconsider in their protest program after local administration assured that the search for disappeared Sah would not be stopped under any pretext. 

A tripartite meeting participated by the trade union representatives, political leaders and district administration officials was held on Monday to resolve the problem after the trade unions announced a district-wide health service strike on Sunday. During the meeting, the political parties also promised to help find Sah´s whereabouts. 

The trade unions informed that they would take the decision to resume the service after the peace rally on Tuesday. They have asked for a written commitment from the local political parties that they would assist in providing security to the health workers working at the local level. The trade unions have also demanded security assurance for the health workers from the DAO in black and white. 

“We had demanded that the whereabouts of Chhedilal must be made public soon,” said Hemraj Kathayat, the coordinator of the trade unions´ struggle committee. “We decided to reconsider on the health service strike after the district administration promised to expedite the search for our colleague.” Right activists had pressurized the health workers and administration alike to reach an agreement soon, stating that the health service strike is a sensitive issue concerned with the lives of the people. 

Due to the phase-wise protests launched by the agitating health workers in the district, regular vaccination for women and children among other health service have been badly affected for quite some time now. 

Health workers had warned that all the health services except those provided at the District Hospital would be halted from Monday and that all the services except the emergency department at the District hospital too would be disrupted from coming Sunday if the local administration did not get serious about their demand.

Published on: 27 August 2013 | Republica