July 18: In a bid to ensure better health for its employees, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has decided to make medical check-up for all its employees compulsory.

Officials in the health department informed that the check-up, which has already been started in some departments, will be introduced in a phased manner. The check-up of class IV employees working in unhygienic conditions in sewarage operations has already been undertaken on a pilot basis. Likewise, it will be extended to employees of other departments.

The demand for medical check-up was being voiced for a long time. Corporators voiced it way back in 1983 and 1994 also, but no decision was taken then. Vijaya Dhulla of the Congress felt regular check-ups of employees during their service period will help detect dangerous diseases. She opined that retired employees should also be helped financially to cope up with ever-increasing medical expenses.

She demanded that special centres be opened in all municipal hospitals, where employees could be screened once every three years. Dhulla suggested that retired employees should be allowed to make use of these centres on the lines of the scheme prevailing for Western Railway employees. Retired employees in WR are allowed to make use of the centres on payment of nominal fees.

Another corporator, Kala Tiwari, stressed on the importance of medical check-ups, saying efficiency of employees is related to their physical fitness. She felt the check-up should be carried out once every two years. She added that retired employees should be provided medical relief free of cost.

The health department, while admitting that the corporators' demand was just, said it will be implemented gradually. They informed that municipal employees are given free medical treatment in municipal hospitals. Besides, all employees who have completed one year of continuous service are allowed reimbursement of medical expenses up to Rs 18,000 in case of illness to themselves and up to Rs 8,000 in case of illness of their direct dependents.

The department announced that medical benefits on the lines of the state government will be now extended to all employees. However, any additional benefits for retired employees have not been announced till now. Retired employees are given 50 per cent concession for operations, pathological, bacteriological and BMR test, electrocardiogram, encephalgram, X-ray and CT scan.

But retired employees who want to avail of these facilities have to pay charges in advance for benefits either for six months or a year, according to their payment range. The minimum fee is Rs 2 per month for those drawing up to Rs 460, those drawing over Rs 3,500 are charged Rs 2 per Rs 500. The corporation also did not find it necessary to cover all employees under the Mediclaim scheme, saying all benefits are provided to retired employees.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.