Raipur :  Officials and employees of the Health Department were on strike from August 21, 2023, to September 12, 2023. The withheld salaries for this period have been issued and the leaves have also been approved on the directive of Health Minister  Shyam Bihari Jaiswal. Nearly 30,000 health workers in the state have benefited from this decision of the Department. Chhattisgarh Health Federation has expressed gratitude to Health Minister Jaiswal.

It is noteworthy that the employees who were absent from the office to join the strike called by Chhattisgarh Health Federation were suspended and their salaries were withheld as a disciplinary action. Federation officials had met with the Health Minister regarding this issue. After the meeting, Health Minister Mr. Jaiswal had directed health department officials to resolve these discrepancies.

In compliance with the directive, 5,000 suspended employees have been reinstated into service. Additionally, withheld salaries for 25,000 employees during the protest have been released. Chhattisgarh Health Federation paid courtesy call on Health Minister Jaiswal at his residence office yesterday and thanked him for the aforementioned decision.

Officials of the Federation mentioned that the salaries of 2,000 employees of Medical Education Department have also been withheld for absence during the protest period. Federation officials have requested Health Minister Jaiswal to release the salaries of these workers as well.