Labour Department inspects hospitals

KOCHI: The Labour Department officials under the Joint Labour Commissioner (JLC) carried out inspections at various private hospitals in the city on Tuesday to look into the service conditions of employees. The inspections were conducted at Lisie and Laxmi Hospitals.The records revealed that 20 per cent of the employees at Lisie Hospital are working on temporary basis as trainees without any bond, said Joint Labour Commissioner Vincent Alex.Most of the nurses working in the hospital have just finished their GNM or BSc Nursing courses and were recruited as trainees for a period of one year or less. They are being paid between `5,000 to `6,000, well below the minimum stipulated salary of `7,500.The condition of the maintenance staff is deplorable as they are not offered any labour benefits like uniform allowance or leave and are paid meagre wages of `3,500 to `4,000. Since the cleaning and security jobs at the hospital are outsourced, the employees are not able to protest against their ill-treatment by the hospital management, Vincent Alex said.The  Labour Department has served notice on the hospital management seeking a reply within 15 days. Outsourcing is a major issue in the hospital, according to the Joint Labour Commissioner. “Employees who are deputed by an agency are made to work for the hospital management too,” he said.However, Lisie Hospital authorities denied getting any notice from the Labour Department. “The officials have expressed satisfaction over the situation at the hospital,” said Johnson, spokesperson of the hospital.The officials further revealed that 70 per cent of the employees at Laxmi Hospital were underpaid. Old-age additional benefits like extra payment and medical aid are not being offered to the maintenance staff at the hospital, the officials said.Laxmi Hospital manager Harikumar, however, refuted this and said the team which inspected the premises had expressed satisfaction over the facilities.