Contractual nurses start hunger strike

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Follow us:WhatsappFacebookTwitterTelegram.cls-1{fill:#4d4d4d;}.cls-2{fill:#fff;}Google NewsThe ongoing agitation by contractual nurses over regularisation of jobs and pay hike demands has intensified with the nurses resorting to hunger strike from Friday.More than 100 nurses started their indefinite fast at their agitation site at PMG square in Bhubaneswar even as the Government on Friday claimed that it is taking steps to fulfil their demands. The assurances of the Government have failed to placate the nurses who are demanding concrete steps for calling off the strike.“The Government had given such assurances several times before but that did not translated to action,” All Odisha Contractual Nurses’ Association leader Malati Tripathy alleged. With the health services in the medical college and hospitals severely affected by the ongoing ceasework of contractual nurses since July 15, Health Minister Prasanna Acharya on Friday held a high-level meeting to discuss the issue. He announced that steps are being taken to regularise the jobs of the contractual nurses who have completed six years of service.The minister also stated that the issue of pay disparity between contractual and regular nursing staff has been placed before the Anomalies Committee and will be resolved soon. The agitating nurses have been demanding increase of salary from ` 5,200 to ` 9,300 per month at the entry level.Steps are also being taken to provide uniform and laundry allowance to them. The gradation list of nurses in the peripheral hospitals would be completed soon and promotion process would commence within a month, Acharya said.Meanwhile, the SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, has plunged into an acute crisis with the nursing students not reporting for duties. The nursing students had been deployed by the hospital to meet the shortfall.The students have decided to stay away from work from Friday demanding streamlining of their courses and holding of examinations in time. They have also sought increase in stipend.The regular nurses have also come out in support of the contractual nurses and called upon the Government to meet their legitimate demands. The Regular Nursing Association has decided to stage a symbolic protest by wearing black badges from Friday while a delegation met the Health Minister in Bhubaneswar.first published:July 21, 2012, 12:43 ISTlast updated:July 21, 2012, 12:43 IST
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The ongoing agitation by contractual nurses over regularisation of jobs and pay hike demands has intensified with the nurses resorting to hunger strike from Friday.

More than 100 nurses started their indefinite fast at their agitation site at PMG square in Bhubaneswar even as the Government on Friday claimed that it is taking steps to fulfil their demands. The assurances of the Government have failed to placate the nurses who are demanding concrete steps for calling off the strike.

“The Government had given such assurances several times before but that did not translated to action,” All Odisha Contractual Nurses’ Association leader Malati Tripathy alleged. With the health services in the medical college and hospitals severely affected by the ongoing ceasework of contractual nurses since July 15, Health Minister Prasanna Acharya on Friday held a high-level meeting to discuss the issue. He announced that steps are being taken to regularise the jobs of the contractual nurses who have completed six years of service.

The minister also stated that the issue of pay disparity between contractual and regular nursing staff has been placed before the Anomalies Committee and will be resolved soon. The agitating nurses have been demanding increase of salary from ` 5,200 to ` 9,300 per month at the entry level.

Steps are also being taken to provide uniform and laundry allowance to them. The gradation list of nurses in the peripheral hospitals would be completed soon and promotion process would commence within a month, Acharya said.

Meanwhile, the SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack, has plunged into an acute crisis with the nursing students not reporting for duties. The nursing students had been deployed by the hospital to meet the shortfall.

The students have decided to stay away from work from Friday demanding streamlining of their courses and holding of examinations in time. They have also sought increase in stipend.

The regular nurses have also come out in support of the contractual nurses and called upon the Government to meet their legitimate demands. The Regular Nursing Association has decided to stage a symbolic protest by wearing black badges from Friday while a delegation met the Health Minister in Bhubaneswar.