Around 3,500 paramedical and nursing staff working across 12 labour hospitals and 112 service dispensaries of the Maharashtra State Employees’ Insurance Society have been deprived of the ESIC allowance since the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, sparking widespread resentment among employees.
The ESIC allowance was introduced in 1962 by the central government to bridge the salary gap between state insurance society staff and Employees’ State Insurance Corporation employees. Medical officers receive Rs 200 per month and pharmacists Rs 60, but nurses, X-ray technicians, laboratory technicians, and other paramedical staff have been abruptly excluded.
The allowance, which stood at Rs 15 when introduced, was raised to Rs 50 by 1989. However, about 20 years ago, it was suddenly discontinued for nurses, paramedical staff, and Class IV employees, drawing strong criticism of discriminatory policy.
Balasaheb Jogdand of the Maharashtra State X-Ray Technicians Association demanded that the society restore the allowance at revised rates indexed to inflation. “The injustice being done to employees must be corrected,” he said.
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