Sambhajinagar Crisis: GMCH Contract Staff Go on Strike Over 4 Months of Unpaid Salaries

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad): The rhythmic bustle of the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), popularly known as Ghati Hospital, was disrupted on Wednesday as the underlying financial distress of its workforce boiled over into a full-blown protest. Hundreds of contract-based employees, who form the backbone of the hospital’s support system, have initiated an indefinite strike, claiming they have not been paid their wages for the last four months.

The protest has raised serious concerns about sanitation and patient care at one of the largest state-run medical facilities in the Marathwada region.

The Breaking Point: Four Months of Silence

According to the protesting workers, the financial delay has become unbearable. The staff, which includes ward boys, sweepers, cleaners, data entry operators, and other Class IV employees, allege that they have not received a single rupee since October 2025.

Gathering outside the Dean’s office on Wednesday morning, the workers staged a loud demonstration, chanting slogans against the hospital administration and the private manpower agency responsible for their payroll.

"We have been working tirelessly day and night, ensuring the hospital remains clean and patients are transported to wards. But our stoves at home are cold," said one of the protesting ward boys. "It has been four months. How are we supposed to pay our house rent, school fees for our children, or even buy groceries? We are drowning in debt just to survive."

The Blame Game: Agency vs. Administration

The root of the issue appears to be the complex bureaucratic machinery involved in hiring contract labor. These workers are not directly on the government payroll but are hired through third-party private agencies.

Representatives of the contract workers' union stated that every time they approach the private agency, they are told that the government has not released the grants. Conversely, when they approach the hospital administration, they are told the file is "in process."

"We are tired of being shuttled between the agency and the administration. The agency says they haven't received funds from GMCH. GMCH says the bills are in the treasury. In this game of files, it is the poor worker who is starving," a union leader stated during the protest.

The workers have threatened that the strike will continue indefinitely until their pending dues are cleared in full. They have also demanded a written assurance that such delays will not occur in the future.

Impact on Hospital Services

GMCH Sambhajinagar is a tertiary care center that caters to thousands of patients from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, and other neighboring districts. The withdrawal of labor by contract staff poses an immediate threat to the hospital's hygiene and operations.

• Sanitation: With sweepers on strike, the cleaning of wards, corridors, and toilets is expected to be severely hit, raising the risk of infections.

• Patient Transport: Ward boys are crucial for moving patients on stretchers from ambulances to the casualty ward and for shifting them between departments for X-rays and tests. Their absence could lead to chaos in the emergency department.

• Administrative Delays: Data entry operators on contract are often responsible for case paper registration and record-keeping, which may see significant slowdowns.

Administration’s Response

Responding to the agitation, the hospital administration has cited technical procedural delays as the primary reason for the non-payment. Sources within the GMCH administration indicated that the bills submitted by the contractor are currently being scrutinized and processed through the government treasury.

A senior official from GMCH, wishing to remain anonymous, said, "We are aware of the hardship faced by the workers. The proposal for the release of funds has been sent to the higher authorities. We are pushing for an expedited release of the budget so that the agency can pay the workers. We have requested them to call off the strike in the interest of patient care."

A Recurring Nightmare

This is not the first time GMCH Sambhajinagar has witnessed such unrest. The issue of delayed payments for contract staff has become a chronic problem in Maharashtra's public health sector.

In 2024 and 2025, similar protests were observed where workers had to resort to 'stop-work' agitations to get their legitimate dues. Labor activists argue that the outsourcing model in government hospitals is flawed, as it leaves vulnerable low-income workers at the mercy of private contractors who often lack the liquidity to pay salaries when government grants are delayed.

The Human Cost of Bureaucracy

For the hundreds of families dependent on these meager salaries, the delay is catastrophic. Many workers reported taking high-interest loans from local moneylenders just to feed their families.

"We are not asking for a hike or a bonus. We are just asking for the money we have already earned with our sweat," a female sanitation worker said, fighting back tears. "If the government cannot pay us, they should tell us to stop working. Why make us work for free?"

As the strike enters its next phase, all eyes are on the Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER) and the state government to intervene and resolve the deadlock before the healthcare infrastructure at Ghati Hospital collapses