Twelve contractual workers at All India Institute of Medical Sciences Trauma Centre have been fired for asking for minimum wages, PTI reported on Thursday. They were hired by a private company, Sudarshan Facilities Pvt Ltd, tasked with the job of providing housekeeping staff to the hospital. Workers said that their salaries were abruptly cut by Rs 1,000, from Rs 9,500 to Rs 8,500, reported Zee News. They said no reason was given for it.

The Delhi Hospitals Contractual Workers’ Union said the hospital administration called the police when the workers demanded minimum wages. The sacked employees have accused the administration of exploitation. They said they were made to do the work of Class III staff even though they had been hired as Class IV staff, reported PTI.

They alleged that the Sanitary Inspector took money from them for allotting duty. They have also claimed that they were not paid wages on time, and physically and verbally abused on several ocassions by the Sanitary Inspector. The Union has written to the AIIMS director about the complaints.

The hospital said they had held meetings with the private company officials about the incident. “We will appreciate uninterrupted sanitation and housekeeping services,” said Dr Amit Gupta, additional medical superintendent, AIIMS Trauma Centre.