Systemic Exploitation: Udaipur MB Hospital Sanitation Workers Protest Over 9 Months of Delayed Salaries

Udaipur– In a dramatic show of frustration, nearly 300 contractual sanitation workers at Maharana Bhupal Government Hospital (MB Hospital) boycotted duties and staged a vocal protest outside the superintendent's office, demanding immediate payment of salaries withheld for the past nine months.

The workers, who handle critical cleaning and maintenance tasks across the facility, erupted in anger after enduring repeated delays in wage disbursements that have plunged many into severe financial hardship. "We haven't received our salaries on time for nine straight months," one protesting worker told reporters, highlighting the mounting economic strain on families reliant on these earnings. Compounding the issue, the employees accused hospital management of failing to deposit their Provident Fund (PF) and Employees' State Insurance (ESI) contributions for the last three months, violating statutory obligations.

Tensions boiled over early Monday morning as the sanitation staff abandoned their posts and gathered at the superintendent's office, chanting slogans against the administration and blocking access to the building's stairs in a sit-in demonstration. The protesters leveled serious allegations of systemic exploitation, claiming that the nursing superintendent had arbitrarily appointed nursing staff as "jamadars" (supervisors) over them. This arrangement, they said, has fostered an environment of harassment, including falsifying attendance records, marking workers absent even when they were dutifully present on duty.

After hours of unrest, a delegation of workers met with Hospital Superintendent Dr. R.L. Suman and submitted a formal memorandum outlining their grievances. Key demands included:

• Immediate and timely salary payments for all pending dues.

• Prompt deposit of overdue PF and ESI contributions.

• Initiation of recruitment drives to fill long-vacant positions.

• Priority consideration for regularization and appointments for sanitation workers who have served for years.

Dr. Suman, acknowledging the workers' plight, assured the group of swift and positive intervention. "We will prioritize these issues and take concrete steps to resolve them at the earliest," he stated, urging the staff to resume duties while promising follow-up meetings. Hospital operations returned to normal, though the incident has spotlighted the urgent need for administrative reforms to prevent future disruptions.