Ferozepur August 19, 2018: While the government is keen to implement a model suggested by an American expert for de-addiction and rehabilitation of drug addicts in the state, taking the drug menace as the biggest challenge, the employees working in the Drug De-Addiction Centers and Outpatient Opioid Assisted Treatment – OOAT clinics have decided to close down the working on August 20 to register their protest over long pending demands.
The OOAT clinics were opened in the state to provide effective treatment to the people shunning drugs at the existing Drug De-addiction centres. The treatment provided at these centres is primarily based on the abstinence model (demand reduction), which starts with detoxification and abstinence-based healing strategies. The opioid agonist treatment is used minimally and is concentrated in the district headquarters only, where psychiatrists are available.
A meeting of Drug De-Addiction Contract Employees Union – DDCEU - to this effect was also today under the tutelage of State President, Alvin Bhatti, State President Para Medical Union, Ram Parshad, President, Class IV Govt Employees Union and Karanjit Singh, District President, Drug De-Addiction and Rehabilitation Society.
Addressing the meeting, Alvin Bhatti, State President said despite various meetings, the demands of the union have not yet been finalized.
Union leader Karanjit Singh said he had been recruited by the government since four years but so far no wages have been raised, what to say of other demands. He said, in the past, the union had met various senior officers and Ministers but all in vain.
The leaders said that on July 10, at the Punjab Bhawan in Chandigarh's Sector 3, when the Union organized a demonstration, Sandeep Brar, OSD to CM had received the memorandum with assurance to arrange meeting with the Chief Minister but in spite of the fact that more than a month has passed, no such meeting has been arranged so far.
The union leaders said that the work has increased in the drug de-addiction centres and the OOAT Centers and employees are attending to the 300-400 patients daily visiting the centres for getting medicines - by working 12 hours – more than the normal 8 hours working.
They alleged that the Health Department and Punjab Health Minister, Brahm Mohindra and senior officials of the department are using the delaying tactics and ignoring the demands of the employees.
They said the union in protest has decided to close down the OOAT clinics and drug de-addiction centres on August 20.
In a warning tone to the government, the union leaders said, in case the demands of employees are not met by the government, the agitation will be intensified in the coming days by proceeding on an indefinite strike.