Hundreds of contract sanitation workers, patient care staff and security personnel at government hospitals across Telangana protested on Thursday, demanding that their monthly wages be increased to Rs 26,000 and that authorities address long-standing employment and service-condition concerns.
The protests, organised by the Telangana Medical Contract Employees and Workers Union affiliated with the All India Trade Union Congress, were held outside major hospitals in Hyderabad and at district-level medical institutions. Routine support services were disrupted at several facilities, including Osmania General Hospital, Niloufer Hospital, Petlaburj Maternity Hospital, Koti Maternity Hospital, King Koti Hospital, MNJ Institute of Oncology, Fever Hospital, Nampally Area Hospital and Malakpet Area Hospital.
At a protest on the Osmania General Hospital campus, union leaders said contract workers had faced prolonged wage stagnation despite increasing workloads. The protesting workers said the number of patients visiting public hospitals had risen, leaving sanitation, patient-care and security personnel overworked.
M Narasimha, the union’s state general secretary, alleged that authorities had allowed existing contractors to continue even though the three-year tender period for hospital contract workers had expired two years ago. According to the union, fresh tenders have not been issued, leaving workers dependent on the same contractors and continuing on what they described as meagre wages.
The union has demanded that the Telangana government immediately invite fresh tenders for hospital support services. It has also sought enforcement of minimum-wage provisions, statutory leave entitlements covering 23 festival, national and earned leaves, and an annual bonus equivalent to one month’s salary.
The dispute places hospital support workers at the intersection of public procurement and healthcare delivery. Although they are not clinical employees, sanitation workers, patient-care staff and security personnel perform functions that allow government hospitals to operate. Their work affects cleanliness, patient movement, basic assistance and security across busy public facilities.
The protests were reported at hospitals in Hyderabad as well as across Telangana’s districts, indicating that the demands extend beyond a single institution. The union’s central complaint concerns both the level of wages and the continuation of contracts after the stated tender period ended.
The reported disruption comes as public hospitals continue to rely on contracted personnel for essential non-clinical services. The workers are seeking a revised monthly wage of Rs 26,000, along with formal employment-related benefits and a new tendering process. No government response to the demands was included in the report.
The union’s next demand is for the state authorities to issue fresh tenders and address wage, leave and bonus provisions for contract workers across government hospitals.
