A new directive from the National Health Mission (NHM), Assam has led to widespread concern among its employees, after the administration announced salary cuts for staff who took part in a recent agitation. The order, issued on 2 December 2025, states that the “No Work, No Pay” policy will be applied to all employees who did not attend duty during the protest period.
According to the official order (No. NHM-31012/1/2025-HRD-NHM), the administration recorded non-working or partial working by several employees between 29 October and 11 November 2025. Based on this assessment, the NHM directed a deduction of up to three days’ full salary for service-delivery staff and a total of seven days’ full salary for non-technical programme-management employees who remained absent. The directive notes that the decision has been approved by the competent authority.
The order has triggered discontent across the NHM workforce. Many employees say they were taken by surprise, as the protest they joined was peaceful, pre-informed, and conducted with the knowledge of senior authorities. Workers say they had communicated their plans to the administration well in advance and followed all required procedures. 
The protest itself took place from 29 October to 12 November. Employees were pressing for several long-pending demands, including better wages and equality in pay for equal work. They say their intention was not to disrupt services but to draw attention to issues that have remained unresolved for years.
The new salary-cut directive, however, has left many employees frustrated. Staff associations have condemned the order and called it arbitrary. They argue that penalizing workers for participating in a democratic demonstration goes against basic rights. Several employees have expressed that they joined the agitation not out of defiance but out of a need for fair treatment and clarity in their working conditions.
The association representing the workers has now demanded that the NHM withdraw the salary-deduction order immediately. They have urged the administration to open discussions instead of taking punitive measures. According to them, the decision will only increase tension among the workforce and affect morale at a time when health services rely heavily on coordinated teamwork.
