DODA, Oct 5: Non-Gazetted employees of Government Medical Colleges in Jammu and Kashmir have announced an indefinite strike from October 12, 2026, protesting the continued delay in finalizing and formally notifying their long-pending Service Rules.
The employees said Health Minister Sakina Itoo had given a written assurance that the Service Rules would be finalized and notified by September 30, 2026. However, with the deadline having passed, the employees said the rules have neither been finalized nor placed in the public domain.
According to the employees, they had repeatedly exercised patience and restraint and had earlier deferred their proposed agitation solely on the basis of assurances given by the Health Minister and concerned authorities. They maintained that despite providing sufficient time to the Government, no concrete progress has been communicated.
The Coordination Committee representing employees of the five Government Medical Colleges has now unanimously decided to proceed with an indefinite strike. The employees said they would no longer accept fresh deadlines, verbal commitments or written assurances in place of formal notification of the Service Rules.
The proposed agitation, they said, would continue through democratic and peaceful means and could include hunger strikes and other forms of protest until the rules are finalized, notified and made available in the public domain.
The employees have announced that the strike will involve complete suspension of work, including emergency services. While acknowledging the importance of healthcare services and the potential difficulties that patients may face, they said repeated delays had left them with no option but to intensify their agitation.
The employees have also warned that if the Government fails to resolve the issue before October 12 and the resulting suspension of services causes inconvenience to patients and the public, the concerned authorities would be held responsible for the consequences.
They urged the Government to use the remaining time to settle the matter and prevent the strike from taking effect.
“Finalize the Service Rules, notify them and place them in the public domain. This is the only acceptable solution,” the employees said.
They further maintained that another committee, meeting, extension or assurance would not be sufficient to satisfy their demand.
The employees reiterated that they had waited long enough and that the September 30 deadline had already passed without implementation of the assurance. Their position, they said, is now final: the Service Rules must be formally notified and placed in the public domain.
The employees once again appealed to the Government to intervene immediately and resolve the issue before October 12, stressing that an early settlement would be in the larger interest of patients, healthcare services and the general public.