Manipal Teaching Hospital shut for fifth day amid union-management row

POKHARA: Health services except emergency at Manipal Teaching Hospital in Pokhara remained shut for fifth day as talks between union members and management rendered inconclusive.

Earlier, employees’ unions at the hospital had launched an agitation after management sacked four workers on charges of irregularities in the hospital.

A discussion led by State Minister for Social Development, Nar Devi Pun failed to forge an agreement after trade union refused to resume services unless management allowed the sacked workers to carry on with their regular duties.

“A day’s effort to resolve the row went in vain because of trade union’s demand,” Minister Pun said, “Moreover, leaders of the union did not pay heed to us when we requested them to have an serious outlook towards a sensitive sector like health service.”

Government will be bound to take stern measures if the union downplays our request to allow hospital to resume operations, the minister added.

The hospital’s human resource department Chief Bhanu Bhardwaj said that management won’t revoke its decision to fire staffers who were found guilty after long series of investigation.

“We are ready to form committees to carry out unbiased investigations if there are other problems at the hospital,”Bhardwaj said, “However, the actions taken against the staffers will not be reversed.”

If someone finds our decision, unjust, they are always free to go to the court, Bhardwaj added.

A sacked staffer, Tek Bahadur BK remarked that any agreement between management and union was not possible unless they were allowed to report to duty.

Ramesh Bohora, Nilkantha Bhattarai, Tek Bahadur BK and Kalpana Thakur were sacked by the hospital.  The hospital source said the sacked employees had set up NRT Surgical and NRT Medisales Company and had been supplying medicines to the hospital unilaterally charging exorbitant price for the past six years. NRT stands for abbreviation for Nilkanth, Ramesh, and Tek Bahadur.

 

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Unions halt services at Manipal hospital