HC orders status quo on paramedical staff

Chennai, Jun 4: Madras High Court has restrained the state Government from terminating the services of over 2,600 paramedical staff employed in government hospitals, and filling up the vacancies with candidates selected from employment exchanges.

Justice M Sathyanarayanan, while passing the status quo order on a writ petition, filed by the ''Tamil Nadu Government Hospital Worker's Union, adjourned the hearing till June 15 for further proceedings.

The petition, filed by the treasurer of the union K Varatharajan, said he and over 2,600 others were appointed through private contractors in various posts like drivers, hospital workers, housekeeping staff, laboratory and ECG technicians, dark room assistants and data entry operators.

The petitioner submitted that they were in service continuously on a salary ranging from Rs 1,500 to Rs 3,000. On February 28, the Director of Public Health and Preventive Medicine issued the impugned order, stating that with effect from June 1, 2008, all paramedical posts would be filled up on time-scale pay and selection would be done through employment exchanges.

Assailing the move of the government, the petitioner said his services and other similarly placed employees should be regularised as they had completed 480 days of service in 24 calender months, and the latest Government Order, terminating their services, was contrary to law.

Seeking to quash the February 28 order, the petitioner prayed for an interim injunction restraining the authorities from terminating the services of the existing employees.

UNI