SURKHET, July 5: The health workers of Birendranagar in Surkhet have not received their salaries and allowances for eight months. Health workers employed at the Health Branch of Birendranagar Municipality and other health posts have not been deprived of their salaries for the past eight months.
Employees under the municipality are receiving their salaries and allowances. However, permanent health workers under the Ministry of Health are not. They said they were facing problems in managing their household expenses due to the non-payment of salary. Senior ANM Rajendra Kumari Thapa said that it is difficult to sustain without being paid.
She said, “At first the Ministry of Health said we would be adjusted at the local level and the municipality, too, said that they could pay us the salary, but now they are trying to take a U-turn. This is not acceptable. We should get our salaries and allowances.”
Senior AHW Udaya Thapa of Uttarganga Health Post, said that the employees in the municipality are facing a difficult time due to the delay in the distribution of salaries.
Mentioning that the Ministry of Health decided to go for the adjustment process to make their lives easier, he said that instead they have to be deprived of their salaries.
Public Health Officer Bhupendra Dev Giri said that 38 employees were sent by the Ministry of Health under the Employee Adjustment Matching Standard, 2077. “After that, the Ministry again sent 56 employees under the Health Service Employee Adjustment Arrangement, 2077,” he said, “Due to the lack of budget, salaries have not been paid to the employees on time.”