Telangana Health Department Urged to Address Vacancies, Salary Delays

Swift summary:

• The Telangana United Medical and Health Employees Union (TUMHEU), affiliated with the Center of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), highlighted issues in Telangana’s public health sector, including staff shortages and delayed payments.
• Approximately 6,269 sanctioned posts in government hospitals, urban Primary Health Centres (UPHCs) and phcs remain vacant.
• Thousands of contractual workers under schemes like the National Health Mission (NHM) are reportedly facing job insecurity and non-payment of salaries for months.
• ₹25,000 was announced as a monthly honorarium for contract or outsourced workers but is yet to be received by many.
• Over 2,500 NHM staff, including mid-level health providers (MLHPs), auxiliary nurse midwives (ANMs), pharmacists, and lab technicians have not been paid salaries in recent months.
• TUMHEU demanded regularisation of services for long-serving contract/NHM workers who have more than 10 years of experience.
• A formal representation was submitted to S. Gopikanth Reddy from Medical and Health Services Recruitment Board seeking urgent recruitment to fill vacancies.

Indian Opinion Analysis:

The grievances raised by TUMHEU underline critical challenges in Telangana’s healthcare system-staff shortages coupled with financial insecurity among essential workers. Employment regularisation concerns stretch beyond administrative efficiency; continuity within these roles influences healthcare delivery quality. Delays in salary disbursement could also impact workforce morale, reflecting on patient care outcomes.

Filling the reported 6,269 vacancies will likely improve service accessibility across PHCs/UPHCs while addressing burnout among existing employees managing overstretched workloads. The lack of benefits like timely wages or job security particularly impacts those engaged during crises such as COVID-19-an issue flagged globally regarding frontline worker treatment.

Resolving these systemic issues aligns not just with employee welfare but also augments broader health system resilience if supported through constructive policy decisions like operationalising Government Order 64 inclusively for long-service personnel.

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Published on August 06, 2025