Pokhara, February 22

The longstanding dispute between the hospital management and staff has adversely affected health services at Manipal Medical College, Pokhara, for over the past one month.

The disagreement has disturbed the regular classes of more than 300 students.

Non-teaching staffers have been agitating with different demands including increment in salary and allowance as per the agreement reached earlier.

Their agitation includes sit-ins, gherao and pen-down till 1:00pm.

While the agitation was on, the college management had given 15 days off to students till February 13. Non-resumption of classes after the end of the vacation has hit students coming from far away places hard because the college management has not allowed them to stay in the hostel.

Disruption of health service has forced patients to move to other health facilities.

Bikram KC, chairman, Manipal Employees Coordination Committee, said that they were forced to halt services after various rounds of talks held with management failed to bear any fruit.

Ramesh Bohara, All Nepal Health Workers’ Association Manipal Unit, warned of intensifying their agitation if the management failed to heed their demands.

The hospital management had sought help from the trade union after Pokhara chapter of FNCCI and Labour Office Pokhara failed to address the demands of the agitators.

Murari Sharma, western regional chairman of Nepal Trade Union Congress, said that efforts were under way to end the agitation by taking both sides into confidence.

Agitating employees accuse the management of not abiding by the agreement on salary and allowance, reached in 2013.

However, Manipal College Human Resource Department Chief Birendra Yadav, said that the dispute had reached the Labour Department and it would be resolved through the department.

“We have been providing remuneration as per the income of the college.

Staffers have been working to put the management in trouble by raising their demands frequently,” Yadav said.