Mokokchung, November 19 (MTNews): The Department Recruited Aggrieved Nurses 2021 (DRAN2021) met the Nagaland Health minister Pangnyu Phom on Friday evening and has called off their sit-in dharna over their demand for regularization of their service. However, on Saturday, DRAN2021 issued a press statement describing the genesis of their recruitment and reiterating that the government advertisement clearly mentioned ‘regular basis appointment’.
It was stated that the 129 Department Recruited Aggrieved Nurses 2021 (DRAN2021) were appointed under “50% Direct Recruitment Quota” through advertisement of 16 July 2020 while another 50% (129 posts) were appointed through seniority basis (queue system) after a recommendation of the Manpower Rationalization Committee (MRC).
“NPSC recruitment is normal recruitment as usual, but COVID pandemic recruitment is an extra-ordinary circumstances recruitment in a ‘Do or Die emergency basis’ and outside the purview of NPSC recruitment,” the DRAN2021 statement issued on Saturday read. It stated that after “conditioning” DRAN members to resign from jobs serving for as long as 17 years in National Health Mission (NHM) and other services, the government is now applying ‘use and discard’ policy against DRAN “inhumanely.”
“Condition of advertisement is the basis of any appointment in public service overriding previous or subsequent Notification/Order/Guidelines/Letters of administrative actions and the advertisement clearly says ‘regular basis appointment,” the statement read.
Further, citing the Unemployed Trained Nurses Association (UTNA) case, which was dismissed by the High Court, DRAN2021 said that “changing the condition of appointment from ‘regular basis’ to temporary appointment to temporary engagement, and now giving extension of 1 year as contract appointees is illegal.”
“DRAN 2021 members are not a part to NPSC advertisement giving 25% and 10% weightage to COVID-19 Duty to recruit DRAN members as appeasement,” it added.
It went on to say that the government cannot term its “duping action against DRAN2021 members legal” and term their genuine rights as illegal and that Section 3(1) of Nagaland Essential Services (Maintenance) Act, 1978 cannot be imposed in violation of the fundamental rights of a citizen under the constitution.