Contractual employees of Seti provincial hospital protest over unpaid allowances

Dhangadhi: Contractual employees of Seti Provincial Hospital have launched a protest, demanding festival, clothing, and dearness allowances that they have not received.

More than 150 contractual employees, recruited by the provincial Ministry of Social Development, said they were compelled to strike after not receiving their entitled allowances. The employees have been raising this issue since Asoj 20. While the Hospital Development Committee provided festival allowances in previous years, no such payments have been made this year.

On Monday, the employees presented their demands directly to the Ministry of Social Development, urging prompt action.

Seti Provincial Hospital stated that the ministry has provided grants covering only 12 months of salary, which has prevented the disbursement of festival allowances. Hospital officials also noted that the contractual agreements do not mention festival or clothing allowances, and the Auditor General's report has advised that such allowances cannot be provided by the hospital from its own funds.

Chief Medical Superintendent Dr. Hemraj Pandey said the hospital supports providing festival allowances to employees but faces policy constraints in funding them independently. The Auditor General’s report recommends that the Ministry of Social Development is responsible for covering festival, clothing, and dearness allowances for contractual employees.

The protesting employees expressed dissatisfaction over the lack of a concrete resolution from both the hospital and the ministry and warned that they may escalate the strike if their demands are not met.