Staff Reporter :
A group of health officials and workers, recruited on a contractual basis during the COVID-19 pandemic, staged a protest in front of the Health Directorate on Sunday, demanding the extension of their contracts beyond December.
The protesters, numbering over 1,000, expressed frustration over the uncertainty surrounding their employment after four years of service, urging the authorities to provide assurances regarding their future.
They said they worked keeping their lives in risk during the pandemic but now, their 1004 employees have been passing days in negligence.
From 10AM on Sunday, the protesting outsourcing officials and workers took position in front of the Health Directorate.
ASM Shahjahan, one of the protesters, said, “In 2020,
during the peak of the COVID crisis, we were hired on three-month contracts that were repeatedly extended.
Now, after four years of service, we’re being told our jobs will end in December.
We’ve worked under extreme uncertainty, and now we face unemployment. We’ve heard the positions will remain, but with reduced staff. All we ask is to keep our jobs.”
Sadiq Mohammad Wadud, from the HR and Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness (ERPP) department, highlighted the broader implications of the terminations: “We employed 1,154 workers during the pandemic, hiring them for their qualifications and abilities. Now, these workers face losing their livelihoods.
We appeal to the Health Directorate to find alternative roles for them, ensuring they’re not left jobless.”