SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, September 2: State government doctors have ended their 12-day boycott of biometric attendance following an agreement with the principal secretary of health department to withdraw the order linking biometric attendance to salary payments.
Agreement and withdrawal of boycott
On August 20, state government doctors ceased biometric attendance at their workplaces across Jharkhand following a call from their representative organization, the Jharkhand Health Services Association (JHSA).
This boycott was initiated on August 11 after the health department connected biometric attendance to salary payments in Palamu, Garhwa, and Sahibganj districts. The JHSA instructed its members to record attendance solely in their office registers.
JHSA Secretary Dr Thakur Mritunjay Kumar Singh stated, “Joint secretary of the health department Lalit Shukla on Sunday informed that the principal secretary (Ajay Kumar Singh) has accepted our all 15 points demands including de-linking biometric attendance with salary and requested us to withdraw biometric attendance boycott call. So, JHSA called off the boycott from today (September 2).”
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New attendance and management policies
The agreement stipulates that doctors can now make biometric attendance at any time during their duty hours, given that their duty hours and places are not fixed as per the agreement with the principal secretary of health.
Additionally, the health department has accepted another major demand of the JHSA, stating that the controlling officer of doctors will now be their DDO rather than another officer.
JHSA President Dr PP Sah praised the principal secretary’s decision and emphasised that it is now the health department’s responsibility to list the accepted demands in the proceedings and issue a formal notification.
Former JHSA Secretary Dr Bimlesh Kumar Singh, a member of the delegation, highlighted the need for continued coordination and transparency between JHSA and the health department to improve health services in the state.
On August 23, 2024, during the meeting with the JHSA delegation, Principal Secretary of Health Ajay Kumar Singh had endorsed all 15 demands of JHSA and assured their implementation.
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